https://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=AHeneen&feedformat=atomWikitravel - User contributions [en]2017-09-26T22:57:52ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.28.0https://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Somalia&diff=1958151Somalia2012-11-23T22:00:36Z<p>AHeneen: Reverted edits by 208.118.126.19 (Talk) to last version by 62.30.215.218</p>
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<div>{{quickbar<br />
|image=[[Image:Mog2.jpg|noframe|250px]]<br />
| location=[[Image:LocationSomalia.png|noframe|250px]]<br />
| flag=[[Image:so-flag.png]]<br />
| capital=[[Mogadishu]]<br />
| government= No constituted government<br />
| currency=Somali shilling (SOS)<br />
| area=637,657 sq km<br />
| population=7,753,310 (2002 estimate based on 1975 census)<br />
| language=Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English<br />
| religion=Islam<br />
| electricity=220V/50Hz (European plug)<br />
| callingcode=+252<br />
| tld=.so<br />
| timezone=UTC+3<br />
}}<br />
<br />
{{Warningbox|Except for stable [[Somaliland]], Somalia is currently a war zone&amp;mdash;quite possibly the most dangerous country in the world to visit&amp;mdash;and remains '''extremely dangerous for independent travel''' or sightseeing due to armed conflict between Government forces and various warlords/factions (including al-Qaeda linked Al Shabab). Persons kidnapped from Kenya and, mainly, vessels overtaken by pirates are currently held in Somalia. The country has lacked a semblance of government for over 20 years and the &quot;officially-recognized&quot; government in Mogadishu has a weak grip on the country, despite recent success in the fight against al Shabab and a dramatic improvement safety-wise in Mogadishu in 2011-12. Those visiting for business, research or international aid purposes should consult with their organization and seek expert guidance before planning a trip. Also, the country is experiencing a drought that is affecting most of the country. If you must go, see [[War zone safety]]. <br />
<br />
The ''de facto'' independent [[Somaliland]] is a stunning contrast, with a decent government structure in place &amp; less violence it is safer for travel, although both the US and UK governments advise against it. Tourists in Somaliland are required to be accompanied by armed guards outside the capital Hargeisa (namely) because of the damage the potential kidnapping/killing of a foreign tourist(s) would have to its reputation. Puntland is also ''de facto'' independent, but lacks a significant government and, despite much violence, is home to rival warlords and is '''not''' safe for independent travel.(Updated July 2012)}}<br />
<br />
'''Somalia''' ([[Somali phrasebook|Somali]]: ''Soomaaliya''; [[Arabic phrasebook|Arabic]]: الصومال‎ ''aṣ-Ṣūmāl'') is on the Horn of Africa, and is bordered by [[Ethiopia]] to the west, [[Djibouti]] to the north-west, and [[Kenya]] on its south-west. This is a country with a troubled past. Civil war, military coups, border disputes and warlordism are the general course of events here. Things started to improve after the Ethiopian Army withdrew in 2007 after defeating an Islamist government, but since then violence has flared up again with the re-emergence of Islamist and other clan and warlord-affiliated militias. Somalia is currently (sort of) ruled by the a Coalition government, compromising the Internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the former Islamist government. However, the government is currently waging a military campaign with radical Islamic factions that refused to merge with the government and are backed by al-Qaeda. <br />
<br />
==Understand==<br />
=== History ===<br />
The history of the Somali people dates back many centuries. The first time the word Somali was mentioned in a history book was 3500 years ago, when the queen of Egypt Hatshepsut sent a fleet of 5 large ships and a crew of 250 men to Somalia which the Egyptians called The Land of Punt. Punt means “the land of spices” from the aromatic plants that grow there. The Egyptians wanted to trade and they brought jewels and glass beads that they exchanged for gold, elephant tusks, myrrh, ostrich feathers, spices and different beads. Some of these items, especially the aromatic ones, were used by the Egyptians in their religious festivals and celebrations. <br />
<br />
Between the 7th and 9th Cent. immigrant Muslim Arabs and Persians established trading posts along the Somali coast. <br />
In the 14th century Ibn Battuta, the great Berber traveller, visited Mogadishu and wrote about the people, their food and clothing and how they ruled themselves. In his book he mentioned that the people in the city were very fat and everybody ate as much as they could. The Mogadishans wore very nice white clothes and turbans and their sultan was very powerful.<br />
<br />
Somalia was an unknown country for European explorers until the Portuguese explorers reached the coastal cities of Somalia on their way to India. They called it Terra Incognita, which means the unknown land. These new discoveries encouraged many other European navigators to sail on the Somali coasts. <br />
<br />
====The colonial era====<br />
<br />
British, Italian and French imperialism all played an active role in the region in the 19th century.<br />
In 1884 at the European powers' conference in Berlin, Somalia was divided into five parts to dilute the homogeneity imposed by its language, religion, and race.<br />
<br />
The colonial powers divided Somalia into British Somaliland in the north, Italian Somalia in the south, the French Somali coast in Djibouti, Ogaden in the west and NFD. In the early 20th century a Somali resistance against these colonial powers started, led by Sayed Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, whom the British gave the nickname &quot;Mad Mullah.&quot; He began his opposition after returning from Mecca and established his own army, which he called the Dervishes. He recruited from the local people and built his own headquarters in Taleex. In 1901 the fighting started between British and local Somali forces and it was the beginning of a long struggle that resulted in Somali independence.<br />
<br />
===Post Independence===<br />
<br />
After the independence, Somalia has been intertwined in much violence since 1991. In 1969, General Siad Barre siezed power over a coup d'etat, and the country was under a military government when the previous president was assassinated. The military government established large-scale public works programs and successfully implemented an urban and rural literacy campaign, which helped dramatically increase the literacy rate. In addition to a nationalization program of industry and land, the new regime's foreign policy placed an emphasis on Somalia's traditional and religious links with the Arab world, eventually joining the Arab League in 1974. All in all, Somalia's initial friendship with the Soviet Union and later partnership with the United States enabled it to build the largest army in Africa. This however ended in an utter collapse in the 1980's when the Somali people were disillusioned with the government and because the government was weakened further in the 1980s as the Cold War drew to a close and Somalia's strategic importance was diminished.<br />
<br />
As a result, General Barre was unfortunately ousted out of power by various rebels hungry for power and the civil war started in 1991 since the apparent independence of Somaliland. Since then, Life has grown tough for many Somalians, and have began to leave the country in large numbers to settle in safer parts of the world. <br />
<br />
The prospects of change seem remote as of now, though a new government under the President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has since making efforts in fighting instability and to end the war. From 1991 till now, Somalia has not seen anything but anarchy and corruption even under the TFG (transitional federal government) whom successfully worked towards an elected president in September 2012.<br />
<br />
=== Climate ===<br />
<br />
Somalia is principally desert. Major climatic factors are a year-round hot climate, seasonal monsoon winds, and irregular rainfall with recurring droughts. Mean daily maximum temperatures range from 30 °C to 40 °C (85–105 °F), except at higher elevations and along the east coast. Mean daily minimums usually vary from about 15 °C to 30 °C (60–85 °F). The southwest monsoon, a sea breeze, makes the period from about May to October the mildest season at Mogadishu. The December-February period of the northeast monsoon is also relatively mild, although prevailing climatic conditions in Mogadishu are rarely pleasant. The &quot;tangambili&quot; periods that intervene between the two monsoons (October–November and March–May) are hot and humid.<br />
<br />
== Regions ==<br />
<br />
{{Regionlist<br />
| regionmap=Somalia regions map.png<br />
| regionmaptext=<br />
| regionmapsize=380px<br />
<br />
| region1name=[[Southern Somalia]]<br />
| region1color=#cba78a<br />
| region1items=<br />
| region1description=Home to the capital and the majority of the fighting.<br />
<br />
| region2name=[[Central Somalia]]<br />
| region2color=#d0d398<br />
| region2items=<br />
| region2description=The central portion of the country, around the Galguduud and Mudug regions.<br />
<br />
| region3name=[[Puntland]]<br />
| region3color=#a9a9c2<br />
| region3items=<br />
| region3description=A historic, autonomous region on the Horn.<br />
<br />
| region4name=[[Somaliland]]<br />
| region4color=#92c6a8<br />
| region4items=<br />
| region4description=The ''de facto'' independent northern region, which boasts a functioning government and a &lt;small&gt;''miniscule''&lt;/small&gt; extant tourist sector.<br />
<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Cities ==<br />
<br />
* [[Mogadishu]] - the capital, and generally considered the most lawless city in the world.<br />
* [[Hargeisa]] - the capital of [[Somaliland]] and, by Somalian standards, a fairly safe place.<br />
* [[Kismayo]] - a port city in the south of the country<br />
<br />
<br />
==Get in==<br />
{{VisaRestriction|Entry will be refused to citizens of [[Israel]] and to those who show stamps and/or visas from Israel.}}<br />
<br />
===By plane===<br />
<br />
Plane travel may be problematic to/from Somalia, due to the recent bombings of the airport(s) by Ethiopian forces. However, air may be the safest means of travel to and from Somalia.<br />
<br />
The most reliable way to get in seems to be with African Express, which has connections in [[Dubai]], [[Nairobi]], and other smaller Middle Eastern and East African ports of call. Tickets can be reserved in advance, but not purchased unless you are at their ticketing office - check back in to ensure you have a seat reserved if you will not be in the city you fly out of before your flight!<br />
<br />
* '''African Express''' [http://www.africanexpress.co.ke/] is a Kenyan airline that flies to/from [[Berbera]], [[Bossaso]], [[Galkacyo]] and [[Mogadishu]] primarily from [[Nairobi]] and [[Dubai]], but also less frequently from smaller locations such as [[Sharjah]], [[Entebbe]] or [[Jeddah]]. Major routes use MD-82 jets, shorter hops may be on a DC-9 or 120-ER.<br />
<br />
* '''Jubba Airways''' [http://www.jubba-airways.com] is a Somali airline that operates from Mogadishu to/from: [[Dubai]], [[Bossaso]] and [[Jeddah]]. Flights also may be available to/from: [[Galkayo]], [[Hargeisa]] and [[Sharjah]]. They use a Soviet-made Ilyushin-18 aircraft. They are the only airline to/from Somalia that currently accepts online booking reservations, but confirm with them seven (7) days in advance before flying.<br />
<br />
* '''Daallo Airlines''' [http://www.daallo.com/] was formerly the only international carrier to fly to Somalia. They are currently (as of June 2011) grounded and have inconsistent service even when open. They operated 2-3 services per week from [[Djibouti]] also using a Ilyushin-18 aircraft.<br />
<br />
All flights to Mogadishu use Aaden Cabdulle Cismaan International Airport, which re-opened in August 2006. Prior to this, both airlines used an airport many miles from the Mogadishu due to security fears over the city's main airport.<br />
<br />
===By car===<br />
Don't. Though this '''may''' be possible if you wish to cross into Somaliland, borders are generally sealed, and always dangerous.<br />
<br />
===By bus===<br />
It is possible, and relatively safe (though ''relative'' is the key term) for you to take a series of buses and/or shared cars from [[Ethiopia]] into [[Somaliland]].<br />
<br />
From [[Jijiga]] in Ethiopia, ask for the bus to [[Wajaale]]. Once there, cross the border (have your Somaliland visa ready to go) and take a shared 4X4 car to [[Hargeisa]].<br />
<br />
Keep in mind that to leave via the same route, you will need a multiple-entry Ethiopian visa (- no longer true as Ethiopian visas can be obtained at the Ethiopian Trade Mission in Hargeisa). These are not issued at the airport and must be received in advance of your journey. Somaliland requires a visa as well (see the &quot;Getting In&quot; section on its page for more details).<br />
<br />
From [[Djibouti]], 4x4s leave from Avenue 26 in Djibouti City every afternoon at around 5pm and drive across the desert through the night to reach Hargeisa around 8am the next day. <br />
<br />
As noted above, the borders around the rest of the former Somalia are closed and extremely dangerous.<br />
<br />
===By boat===<br />
<br />
There are ports in [[Boosaaso]], [[Berbera]], [[Kismaayo]], and [[Mogadishu]]. The waters outside of Somalia, especially the Gulf of Aden, are unsafe due to pirates; thus, caution is advised.<br />
<br />
==Get around==<br />
<br />
Somalia was without an effective government for 17 years; as one can imagine this has had a negative effect on the roads and transit. There are two different modes of public transportation that you can use in Somalia: buses and taxis. The only rule of the road that seems to still be in force is that Somalis ''generally'' drive on the right or centre.<br />
<br />
==See==<br />
[[Image:Zeila coast.jpg|thumb|250px|The Zeila Coast]]<br />
<br />
The Somali beach near Mogadishu is very beautiful. Families usually go on weekends. It is important to be aware that women must swim fully clothed, as Sharia law is strictly enforced, and does not permit women to show much of their bodies or to mingle with men. It is not clear as what the situation is like currently. In other circumstances, the beach would make for an ideal destination; however, the general threat of banditry, armed conflict and especially piracy along the coast make this, along with every other option in the country, risky.<br />
[[Image:408231634_93e1e91569.jpg|thumb|250px|Mogadishu beach]]<br />
<br />
==Do==<br />
<br />
<br />
==Talk==<br />
<br />
[[Somali phrasebook|Somali]] is the official language in Somalia. However, [[Arabic phrasebook|Arabic]] is spoken by many and represents a secondary language. As the Somalis are almost exclusively Sunni Muslims, Somali has borrowed much religious terminology from Arabic, although there are also Persian or Arabic loan words for everyday objects (e.g. Somali albab-ka (the door), from the Arabic الباب al baab). While the southern part of the country was a former protectorate and colony of Italy, it is unclear just how much Italian is still spoken. Many Somalis speak English to communicate with the people who generally handle all of the menial jobs in their country. If you can learn a few words of Somali, your hosts and any other locals that you may meet will be very impressed and appreciative.<br />
<br />
==Buy==<br />
The currency used in Somalia is the Somali Shilling (sos). Currently only the 1000 shilling note is used, and doesn't go far... a glass of (unpotable) water will cost 1000sos. The current exchange rate of 100 US dollars to Somali shilling is 3,300,000 as of May 2008. Much more useful is goods with which you could barter.<br />
<br />
The Bakaara Market (Somali: Suuqa Bakaaraha) is a Mogadishu open market and the largest in Somalia.<br />
<br />
Bakaara Market in the heart of Mogadishu. The market was created in late 1972 during the reign of Siad Barre regime. Proprietors sold and still sell daily essentials (including staples such as maize, sorghum, beans, peanuts, sesame, wheat and rice), petrol and medicine. Despite a new Coalition government taking control, Somali markets continue to operate largely in the absence of regulations. A wide array of weaponry is also sold, with guns sometimes being the only thing for sale at some markets. Currently, 80% of Somali males own a weapon. Be very cautious, as customers will often test their new weapons by firing into the air. In the markets, an automatic rifle is usually available for purchase for around 1,000,000 (sos) or $30. even if you think it is macho, don't buy one. you are a lot more likely to use a weapon if you have it, and this would be seen as very bad in the eyes of the law, and could lead to your execution.<br />
<br />
There are many things to buy here but be wary of cheap pearls as they may not be real. There are many good tailors in Somalia and it is a good place to have clothes made to measure and copied.<br />
<br />
==Eat==<br />
<br />
[[Image:Banadir3.jpg|thumb|250px|Typical Somali cuisine]]<br />
<br />
Somali meals are meat driven, vegetarianism is relatively rare. Goat, beef, lamb and sometimes chicken is fried in ghee, or grilled or broiled. It is spiced with turmeric, coriander, cumin and curry and eaten with basmati rice for lunch, dinner and sometimes breakfast. <br />
<br />
Vegetables appear to largely be side dishes, and often are woven into a meat dish, such as combining potatoes, carrots and peas with meat and making a stew. Green peppers, spinach and garlic were also noted as the types of vegetables most commonly eaten. Bananas, dates, apples, oranges, pears and grapes are among some of the more popular fruits (a raw, sliced banana is often eaten with rice). But in Somalia, Somalis had a much larger selection of fruits - like mango and guava - from which they would make fresh juice. Somali stores, therefore, carry among the widest selection of fruit juices, both Kern1s juices as well as imports from India and Canada. And there is also a selection of instant juice: frozen or available as a powder.<br />
<br />
The overriding characteristic of the Somali diet is that it consists of ''halal'' foods (Arabic for &quot;allowable&quot; as opposed to ''haram'': &quot;prohibited&quot;). Somalis are Muslims and under Islamic Law (or Shar'1ah), pork and alcohol are not allowed.<br />
<br />
Other common foods include a type of homemade bread called ''injera'' (like a large, spongy pancake) and ''sambusas'' (like the Indian ''samosas''), which are deep-fried triangular-shaped pastries filled with meat or vegetables.<br />
<br />
The Cuisine of Somalia varies from region to region and consists of an exotic mixture of native Somali,Yemeni, Persian, Turkish, Indian and Italian influences. It is the product of Somalia's rich tradition of trade and commerce. Despite the variety, there remains one thing that unites the various regional cuisines: all food is served halal.<br />
<br />
==Drink==<br />
<br />
Somalis adore spiced tea. A minority of Somalis drink a tea similar to Turkish tea which they brought from Middle eastern countries to their homeland. However, the majority drink a traditional and cultural tea known as Shah Hawaash because it is made of cardamom (in Somali, Xawaash or Hayle} and cinnamon bark (in Somali, Qoronfil).<br />
<br />
Islam forbids alcohol and Somalia follows this rather strictly. If you do find some, don't show it or drink it in public, as there's a strong chance that you could offend, cause a scene and may even be punished by authorities.<br />
<br />
As for the coffee (kahwa) itself, try mirra, made in the Somali style. Sometimes spiced with cardamom, it's strong and tastes great, particularly drunk with fresh dates. Tea (chai) usually comes with dollops of sugar and perhaps a few mint leaves (na'ana).<br />
<br />
==Sleep==<br />
<br />
[[Bosaso]] and [[Hargeisa]] have some Western-level hotels.<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
<br />
==Stay safe==<br />
<br />
The Somaliland capital Hargeisa is the safest city in Somalia. It is quite westernised and welcomes foreigners more than any other place in Somalia. If you are planning to go to Somalia then we strongly recommend that you go to Hargeisa instead of any other city. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the easiest method for staying safe in Somalia is '''''not to go in the first place'''''. Even with armed protection you are at very high risk of being killed. Kidnappings, armed clashes, piracy, and warlording are all common in this country. The latest event occured on 20th September, 2012 in which at least 14 were killed in a restaurant suicide attack in Mogadishu.<br />
<br />
Currently, an elected president has come to power and this government rules (parts of) Somalia since 9th of September. This government is currently fighting a military campaign against radical al-Qaeda backed insurgents based in the South, Mogadishu is mainly clear from Al-Shabab apart from the occasional calculated attacks on senior members and those productive on the progress of a better Somalia. Other entities rule other parts of Somalia, though: Somaliland and Puntland are essentially countries in and of themselves.<br />
<br />
Be wary of areas where you see armed men, or from where you hear gunfire or explosions. Somali insurgents also launch mortar attacks onto civilian population centers and government compounds. The former Transitional Somali government forces have previously launched artillery attacks against insurgents positioned in urban areas, which have resulted in civilian casualties. Keep in mind that shells could start raining down at any moment, especially if there are any signs of fighting nearby, and that you will have seconds to start running or take cover if you hear the telltale sound of an incoming shell. For more information, see [[War zone safety]].<br />
<br />
Also, be wary of violent crime. Although the Somali government has established a police force, it is still developing, and crime rates are still high. Be aware that there are many warlords and criminals in Somalia who will try to kidnap a foreigner and hold him or her for ransom. <br />
<br />
Driving is on the right. While Somali drivers have something of a reputation for bad driving, the reality is slightly more nuanced. Risks are taken, particularly in Mogadishu, which would not normally be taken in other places, but the locals expect this to happen and compensate accordingly.<br />
<br />
While arranging your trip, it is advisable to request that you be accompanied by hired Somali armed escorts, or bring along bodyguards, but even so, you are extremely high at risk of the aforementioned issues.<br />
<br />
==Stay healthy==<br />
<br />
Water is contaminated as a rule of thumb, stick to sealed, preferably non-Somalian bottled fluids. Although the country experiences a severe drought, your guide will provide you the food and water needed.<br />
<br />
[[Image: 310841498_b7b971834c.jpg|thumb|250px|Mogadishu Mosque]]<br />
<br />
== Respect ==<br />
<br />
This is a Muslim country. As such, be sensitive about where you point your camera. There are many great photo opportunities around every corner (the question is usually what to leave out of each image), but when photographing people, always ask first. Don't ever, '''''ever''''' try to take pictures of women, even if you're a woman yourself. This is considered a great offense and can even result in more than a few harsh words. Also don't try to take pictures of anything that looks as if it could be of any strategic importance (''i.e.'', has at least one soldier, policeman or, more likely, armed militiaman guarding it).<br />
<br />
Respect the Islamic beliefs of Somali people: Women shouldn't wear tube tops or skimpy outfits. It is absolutely acceptable for any nationality to wear the traditional Somali clothes. <br />
<br />
Do not eat in public during the holy month of Ramadan -- you may be fined or even go to jail. The Al-Shabab Islamist militia can be found in many inhabited areas. They absolutely do not take kindly to any kind of violation of Sharia law and as they are not affiliated with any kind of government, they do not have to abide by any kind of laws per se, they will feel free to punish any abberant behavior any way they please, often by floggings, amputations, or even executions. Government authorities also punish violations of Sharia law, but these are generally less harsh than those imposed by insurgents.<br />
<br />
Alcohol is prohibited in Somalia and possessing alcohol will get you into a lot of trouble -- and '''''never''''' drink and drive. <br />
<br />
If you're dining with a Somali, don't expose the bottoms of your feet to him/her. Don't eat with your left hand either, since the left hand is seen as the 'dirty hand'. Similarly, don't attempt to shake hands or hand a package with your left hand. <br />
<br />
If your Somali friend insists on buying you something - a meal or a gift - let him! Somalis are extremely hospitable, and typically there are no strings attached. It is generally a custom to argue for the bill.<br />
<br />
Never discuss religion from an atheistic or similar point of view. Even highly-educated Somalis who studied abroad won't appreciate it and doors will close for you. Also be aware that the Islamic &quot;call to prayer&quot; happens five times daily and can be heard loudly almost anywhere you go. Just understand that most Somali people are used to it and enjoy it as part of the cultural experience. If you aren't Muslim, it is not expected for you to participate, but you should always sit quietly and respectfully until the prayers end. <br />
<br />
Staring is quite common in Somalia; children, men and women are likely to stare at you simply for being a foreigner, especially if you travel off-season and in out-of-the-way places. This is not meant as an insult; it rather shows an interest, and a friendly smile will leave the kids giggling and showing off, and the adults happily trying out their few English phrases.<br />
<br />
=== Men ===<br />
Men wear trousers or a flowing plaid ma'awis (kilt) western shirts, and shawls. On their heads they may wrap a colorful turban or wear a koofiyad (embroidered cap).<br />
<br />
Due to its Islamic heritage, many Somalis wear long dresses known in the Arab and Islamic worlds as khameez/thobe. In recent years, many men in Somalia choose to wear suits and ties to look more modern. This western dress code is dominant amongst members of the Somali upper class and the government.<br />
<br />
'''Homosexuality is punishable by death.''' It is common for Somali men to walk hand in hand as a sign of friendship, but it would be unwise for Western men to attempt the same. Sharing a hotel room as a way of cutting costs is normal, but don't even ''think'' about asking for one bed for two.<br />
<br />
=== Women===<br />
Women usually wear one of the following dress: ''Direh'', a long, billowing dress worn over petticoats; ''coantino'', a four-yard cloth tied over shoulder and draped around the waist. They also wear an ''abaya'', a long and loose black robe.<br />
<br />
==Contact==<br />
[[Image: King_Ahmed_Gurey_Mog.jpg|thumb|250px|King Ahmed Gurey]]<br />
<br />
The public telecommunications system was almost completely destroyed or dismantled by the civil war factions. Local cellular telephone systems have been established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers. International connections are available from Mogadishu by satellite. International outgoing connections also work from the cellular infrastructure. There is dialup internet access in Mogadishu, by visiting one of the internet cafes. Somalia has the cheapest cellular calling rates on the continent, with some companies charging less than the equivalent of US cent per minute. Competing phone companies have agreed on interconnection standards, which were brokered by the United Nations funded Somali Telecom Association.<br />
<br />
Wireless service and Internet cafés are available, but do remember that the .so domain is not operating in Somalia.<br />
<br />
== '''GSM Cellular Operators in Somalia''' ==<br />
<br />
1)Somafone (GPRS 2G network)<br />
2)Nationallink<br />
3)Hormuud Telecom<br />
4)Telsom Mobile<br />
5)Golis Telecom Somalia (''''Not yet available'''')<br />
<br />
There are no embassies in Mogadishu nor Hargeisa; therefore, in most cases, there will be no governmental representative who will be able to assist if trouble arises. The closest consular services for most countries are in neighboring Djibouti, Ethiopia or Nairobi, Kenya.<br />
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{{outline}}<br />
{{isPartOf|East_Africa}}<br />
{{Countryguide}}<br />
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[[ca:Somàlia]]<br />
[[de:Somalia]]<br />
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[[es:Somalia]]<br />
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[[hu:Szomália]]<br />
[[it:Somalia]]<br />
[[ja:ソマリア]]<br />
[[nl:Somalië]]<br />
[[pl:Somalia]]<br />
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[[ru:Сомали]]<br />
[[sv:Somalia]]<br />
[[wts:Category:Somalia]]<br />
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[[WikiPedia:Somalia]]<br />
[[Dmoz:Africa/Somalia/]]<br />
[[World66:africa/somalia]]</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=North_Ossetia&diff=1947540North Ossetia2012-10-29T00:59:34Z<p>AHeneen: Undo revision 1946956 by 5.138.243.234 (talk) individual listings go on relevant city page. since no address/city listed, these can't be moved</p>
<hr />
<div>{{warningbox| North Ossetia is considerably unsafe to go to at the moment, and at present should not be considered a Tourist destination. Visitors are in fear of militant activity, where there is heavy presence of such movements in [[Vladikavkaz]] and [[Beslan]]. }}<br />
<br />
[[Image:Mount Monakh.JPG|thumb|350px|Mount Monakh at Zei]]<br />
'''North Ossetia-Alania''' is a republic within the [[North Caucasus|Russian Caucasus]] bordering [[Kabardino-Balkaria]] to the west, [[Stavropol Krai]] to the north, [[Chechnya]] and [[Ingushetia]] to the east, and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] to the south. <br />
<br />
==Regions==<br />
<br />
==Cities==<br />
<br />
* [[Vladikavkaz]] &amp;mdash; capital and largest city by far; the main city on the scenic and historic Georgian Military Highway<br />
* [[Alagir]]<br />
* Ardon<br />
* [[Beslan]] &amp;mdash; third largest town and site of the horrific Beslan school massacre<br />
* Chikola<br />
* Digora<br />
* [[Mozdok]] &amp;mdash; second largest town and site of many terrorist attacks against Russian facilities<br />
* [[Nizhny Unal]]<br />
<br />
==Other destinations==<br />
<br />
* [[Zei]] (Цей) &amp;mdash; this once premiere Soviet high alpine resort (currently hobbled by the difficulty of traveling near a [[War zone safety|war zone]]) offers skiing, relaxation, and excursions to some of [[Europe]]'s highest peaks; if willing to put up with ''a lot'' of red tape, it may be possible (once the [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]-Russian border opens up) to trek across the spine of the Greater Caucasus from here to the Soviet resort of [[Shovi]] in Georgia's [[Racha]] region<br />
* Dzinaga &amp;mdash; a smaller, but similarly gorgeous tour-base in southwestern North Ossetia<br />
<br />
==Understand==<br />
<br />
The Ossetes are an Iranian ethnic group who speak Ossete, a language related to [[Farsi phrasebook|Farsi]]. As a small, Orthodox Christian group in the predominantly Sunni Muslim [[North Caucasus]], the Ossetes were quick to ally with the Russian Imperial government in its conquest and annexation of the region. This alliance has endured to the present, where Russia tacitly supports its allies the Ossetes in their goal to reunify [[North Ossetia]] with [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] controlled [[South Ossetia]] and in their ethnic conflict with the neighboring [[Ingushetia|Ingush]]. This particular ethnic conflict has made North Ossetia a magnet for terrorist attacks, especially in its southeast, and has led to a tight security situation policed by often corrupt officials that is discouraging for travel.<br />
<br />
Just to make sure you sound sophisticated, Ossetia is pronounced ''ah-SEH-tee-yah'', Ossete is ''ah-SEET'', and Ossetian is ''ah-SEH-tee-uhn'' (not ''ah-SEE-shuhn'')<br />
<br />
==Talk==<br />
<br />
While [[Ossetian phrasebook|Ossetian]] is the official language, all Ossetians understand [[Russian phrasebook|Russian]]. Even though English is becoming a necessity in [[Russia]], Ossetia hasn't followed the trend yet, and English remains as good as nonexistent, which is why you will almost certainly be spoken to in Russian as a tourist. This does however go without saying that learning a few Ossetian words and phrases will be extremely highly appreciated.<br />
<br />
==Get in==<br />
<br />
[[Vladikavkaz]] is a major regional transit hub and is served by domestic flights from [[Moscow]], [[Saint Petersburg]], and other major Russian cities. It is also easily reached by rail via [[Stavropol]].<br />
===By train ===<br />
Daily trains leaves from/to [[Moscow]] .<br />
Trains from/to [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Adler]] and [[Novorossiysk]] leaves one time for 2 days.<br />
<br />
==Get around==<br />
<br />
Travelers will find pre-arranged travel with reputable agents to be far more convenient than independent travel on unreliable public transportation.<br />
<br />
==See==<br />
===Itineraries===<br />
<br />
==Do==<br />
<br />
*Skiing<br />
*Hiking<br />
*Mountain climbing/biking<br />
*Adventuring<br />
<br />
==Eat==<br />
<br />
Ossetia is famous for its delicious meat pies, very similar to [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] khachapuri, but it is stuffed with lamb, beef, and mushrooms instead of cheese.<br />
<br />
The most common food of the region are Ossetian pies with different fillings such as cheese, potatoes, meat, pumpkin. However '''Fizonag''' which is similar to kebab is also wide spread like in the rest of Caucasus. Vladikavkaz offers a large variety of traditional and international restaurants. '''Dzykka''', one of the region's most ancient dishes is popular among the Ossetes, and is most probably the easiest dish for a visitor to taste. <br />
<br />
<br />
==Drink==<br />
<br />
North Ossetia is famous for it's alcoholic drinks, very similar to [[Russia|Russia]] drinks. Locals prefer to drink an alcoholic drink called '''Arak''', an alcoholic drink produced from corn grain, barley, or other grain crops.<br />
<br />
==Sleep==<br />
==Learn==<br />
North Ossetian State University-located in [[Vladikavkaz]].<br />
<br />
==Stay safe==<br />
<br />
Because of the ongoing Ossete-Ingush ethnic conflict, regional instability, and proximity to [[Chechnya]], travelers should consider North Ossetia a [[War zone safety|war zone]] and tread very cautiously, event though it is safer than its eastern neighbors. Avoid going near the border to South Ossetia, as the border is guarded by extremely corrupt army officers on both sides. On a significant notation is that North Ossetia doesn't experience terrorism frequently.<br />
<br />
==Respect ==<br />
Ossetes, are very hospitable people and are generally well open to foreigners. You do need to remember that this is a traditional and conservative society and that you need to look out for yourself when you feel you are in trouble.<br />
<br />
Speaking out against a person's relatives, either alive or deceased, may make a local person act very hostile against you, which doesn't really mean that Ossetes are temperamental, but this is just to say that they are strong believers in honor and dignity. <br />
<br />
'''Under no circumstances, whatsoever''', will you ever touch a person's hat, because according to Ossetic customs, hats are considered to be a sacred and untouchable thing. Ossetes have zero tolerance towards touching people's hats, and can lead into some unwanted quarrels. When greeting people, you need to greet the elders before you greet any others, just as a form of respect. <br />
<br />
Ossetes are very proud of their own culture and language, and may act generally very defensive if you speak out against their customs.<br />
<br />
==Mobile==<br />
In North Ossetia there are three GSM operators (MTS,Beeline,Megafon), one 3G-UMTS operator (Beeline) and one CDMA 2000 operator on 450 MHz frequency (SkyLink) and they often have offers that give you a SIM card for free or at least very cheap. If you are planning to stay a while and to keep in touch with North Ossetian and other North-Caucasus people, then you should consider buying a local SIM card instead of going on roaming. If you buy a SIM card from a shop you'll need your passport for identification. It only takes five minutes to do the paperwork and it will cost less than $10.<br />
<br />
==Get out==<br />
<br />
As of 2012 the border with [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] at Kazbegi was open to all third country nationals with no special complications apart from the need to track down insurance in Vladikavkaz if coming into Russia from Georgia. Travel east to [[Dagestan]] should be done in roundabout fashion through [[Nalchik]], [[Kabardino-Balkaria]] to avoid extremely unstable [[Chechnya]] and [[Ingushetia]]. Expect shady border officials to question you at length as to your travels when leaving.<br />
<br />
[[WikiPedia:North Ossetia-Alania]]<br />
{{isIn|North_Caucasus}}<br />
{{outline}}<br />
<br />
[[pl:Osetia Północna]]<br />
[[ru:Северная Осетия]]</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Charlotte&diff=1944927Charlotte2012-10-22T02:12:29Z<p>AHeneen: Reverted edits by 98.24.55.88 (Talk) to last version by AHeneen</p>
<hr />
<div>{{printDistricts}}<br />
<br />
'''Charlotte''' [http://www.visitcharlotte.com] is an ambitious and very rapidly growing city in the southern part of central North Carolina. It is the largest city in the state with a population of 756,912 (2010 estimate) residents within the city limits. As of 2006, the Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury combined statistical area (CSA) had a regional population of 2,389,763, and Charlotte is the county seat of [[Mecklenburg County (North Carolina)|Mecklenburg County]]. It is the center of finance, industry, technology, and entertainment for the region. Primarily known in the past as a business center, Charlotte is steadily developing its fledgling tourist industry; currently its central core is one of the most visitor-friendly districts in the Carolinas. <br />
<br />
For information on the city's central district, see [[Uptown Charlotte]].<br />
<br />
&lt;br clear=&quot;all&quot; /&gt;<br />
<br />
==Districts==<br />
{{Regionlist|<br />
<br />
regionmap=Charlotte districts map.png |<br />
regionmaptext=Districts of Charlotte |<br />
regionmapsize=400px<br />
<br />
| region1name=[[Charlotte/Uptown|Uptown]]<br />
| region1color=#be7d7d<br />
| region1items=<br />
| region1description=The literal and figurative &quot;center of things&quot;. Uptown is Charlotte's central district, and the location of its somewhat oversized skyline. It is generally agreed that the word &quot;uptown&quot; refers to anything inside the I-277 loop, though some adjacent entities might describe themselves that way. Uptown is the center of Charlotte's commerce, culture, and government. As recently as the mid-1990s, the area was a virtual &quot;office park&quot; -- home to a lot of business but very few residents -- but is rapidly repopulating with highrise condos. The district is home to several Fortune 500 headquarters, museums, nightclubs, restaurants, parks, city and county government offices, theaters... pretty much anything you'd expect to find in a city center. Most of the bustle is centered around Tryon St., the &quot;Main St.&quot; of the city. Note that most east-west streets are numbered, whereas most north-south streets have proper names. It is well worth noting that Uptown is statistically one of Charlotte's safest areas, due in large part to a large flow of human traffic at most hours.<br />
<br />
| region2name=[[Charlotte/NoDa|NoDa]]<br />
| region2color=#a593d2<br />
| region2items=<br />
| region2description=NoDa, short for North Davidson Street, is one of Charlotte's most eclectic and original neighborhoods. Also known as the Historic Arts District, NoDa is about two miles north of the center city. The district grew up around a large textile mill that closed in the 1970s, sending the surrounding neighborhood into a long period of decline. After artists began moving back into the neighborhood in the 1980s, they began to revitalize and preserve the old brick buildings and quaint mill houses. Even the old Highland Mill, next to the Johnston YMCA, is being renovated for both residential and retail/office space. Enjoy street level art galleries, several restaurants and other unique shops in the district. There is a &quot;gallery crawl&quot; every first and third Friday that attracts many visitors to NoDa.<br />
<br />
| region3name=[[Charlotte/South End|South End]]<br />
| region3color=#5573e3<br />
| region3items=<br />
| region3description=This neighborhood is located close to Uptown in the corridor formed by Tryon St. and South Blvd. It was previously a mill district located along the railroad tracks, but has gradually converted into a hip, semi-upscale entertainment/cultural district. The addition of trolley tracks and light rail connecting it to Uptown has helped spur expansive development here. Possibly the best place in town to take a walk with children, as the neighborhood features ice cream shops, a trolley museum and several kids-oriented stores. Also home to Charlotte's emerging design industry, South End features several galleries and a &quot;gallery crawl&quot; parallel to those in NoDa.<br />
<br />
| region4name=[[Charlotte/Plaza-Midwood|Plaza-Midwood]]<br />
| region4color=#9cb268<br />
| region4items=<br />
| region4description=Similar in some ways to NoDa and South End, but a little rougher around the edges because of its alternative and non-conformist crowd. Plaza-Midwood (named in part for its location along The Plaza) prides itself on its &quot;old Charlotte&quot; feel with a forward and modern thinking population. This neighborhood has quickly become a vibrant alternative to the uptown scene, because of its more accepting and open minded citizens. It is also home to several local institutions such as: The Diamond (diner), several consignment shops, the famous Nova bakery and local galleries that rival even the most popular ones in Noda. This rising neighborhood has been re-built through city grants and proper developers so that property values have actually increased during the housing bust; also due in part by being a highly desirable place to live because of the neighborhoods acceptance of those with alternative lifestyles.<br />
<br />
| region5name=[[Charlotte/Myers Park|Myers Park]]<br />
| region5color=#67b278<br />
| region5items=<br />
| region5description=Once located altogether outside the city, Myers Park is near the heart of modern-day Charlotte. Its reputation as an &quot;old money&quot; neighborhood is accentuated by its cathedral-esque tree canopy and slowly winding avenues. It is home to some of Charlotte's oldest and most expensive homes (formerly country estates), as well as Queens University of Charlotte and Freedom Park. A driving tour of Myers Park is a popular way for tourists to get acquainted with the city, but bring a map; some of Charlotte's most difficult intersections are located here. <br />
<br />
| region6name=[[Charlotte/Dilworth|Dilworth]]<br />
| region6color=#dc69b1<br />
| region6items=<br />
| region6description=Charlotte's first &quot;streetcar suburb&quot;, Dilworth has never lost its reputation as a desirable place to make a home. In recent years the neighborhood has blossomed into an upscale district dotted with eateries and galleries. The promise of increased public transit service has added even more development to this already walkable neighborhood.<br />
<br />
| region7name=[[Charlotte/SouthPark|SouthPark]]<br />
| region7color=#92e355<br />
| region7items=<br />
| region7description=An affluent district in south-central Charlotte, and home to the city's second-largest business district. SouthPark is a newer suburb whose development has mostly occurred in the last 40 years, but it has quickly developed into a semi-urban concentration of office buildings, high rise condos, hotels and entertainment options. <br />
<br />
| region8name=[[Charlotte/Elizabeth|Elizabeth]]<br />
| region8color=#5fb2ab<br />
| region8items=<br />
| region8description=Just outside of Uptown, Elizabeth reflects a transition between elegant Myers Park and gritty Plaza-Midwood. Its tree-lined streets and quiet residential blocks provide an air of relaxation, but its commercial blocks are among the city's most colorful. Sometimes characterized as &quot;a poor man's [[Charlotte/Dilworth|Dilworth]]&quot;, Elizabeth is coming into its own as a center of activity.<br />
<br />
| region9name=[[Charlotte/University City|University City]]<br />
| region9color=#88cc9f<br />
| region9items=<br />
| region9description=A sprawling 1970s-style suburban district, focused around the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. This area is on the city's northeast side and encroaches somewhat into southwestern [[Cabarrus County]]. University City (or UC) is largely an area in transition, having formerly been mostly rural or affluent suburbs; today's growth patterns reflect an influx of minority groups and young families. Aside from the University and related research centers, this area is also home to Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre, a well-defined &quot;downtown&quot; cluster of hotels and retail centers, and many square miles of sprawling shopping centers. <br />
<br />
| region10name=[[Charlotte/East Charlotte|East Charlotte]]<br />
| region10color=#dba5a5<br />
| region10items=<br />
| region10description=A somewhat ambiguous, but distinctive, area covering a large portion of the city's eastern end. East Charlotte contains the city's largest concentration of immigrants, and is mostly a middle- to lower-class area. Much of the east side is depressed and unattractive, but it contains some of Charlotte's most interesting cultural development. Virtually any kind of ethnic food can be found here, and much of the city's &quot;street life&quot; gravitates toward this area. <br />
<br />
| region11name=[[Charlotte/Ballantyne|Ballantyne]]<br />
| region11color=#a787be<br />
| region11items=<br />
| region11description=The most recent large-scale development in Charlotte, Ballantyne is located at the far southern edge of the city. Sprawling and suburban in nature, it is noted for its luxurious &quot;mini-mansions&quot;, upscale retail, large hotels and corporate buildings, and distinguished country club. Ballantyne is mostly residential in nature and most tourist attraction is generated by the Ballantyne Resort. Visitors to this section of Charlotte find that most attractions center around the intersection of Johnston Rd and Ballantyne Commons Pkwy.<br />
<br />
| region12name=[[Charlotte/West Charlotte|West Charlotte]]<br />
| region12color=#00FFFF<br />
| region12items=<br />
| region12description=An area known well for its poverty and crime. This section of town constantly has to battle a lack of proper groceries and a high murder rate. Real Estate in West Charlotte is far cheaper than other neighborhoods in Charlotte. Most of the property is not owner occupied. It has close access to uptown and the airport. <br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Understand==<br />
<br />
===Overview===<br />
<br />
Heavy growth in the past 20 years has made Charlotte one of the nation's largest and most successful cities in the South. In many ways, the city is still trying to catch up to its own growth; visitors often comment that it seems understated in terms of culture and development. However, it is changing at a breathtaking speed. A very rapid influx of population and business investment has given it one of the most dynamic urban areas in the region.<br />
<br />
===Visitor information===<br />
<br />
'''Charlotte Info Center''' 330 S Tryon St and 200 E Seventh St, ''+1 704'' 333-1887 ext. 235 or ''+1'' 800 231-4636, [http://www.charlottesgotalot.com/default.asp?charlotte=155] are the main locations in city center, while a third is inside the airport. Brochures, souvenirs, and advice are available for first-time visitors as well as long-time residents. Along with the public library, this is the best place to go if you are looking for a concentrated source of information about the city. It is worth checking out the brochures for self-guided walking and driving tours.<br />
<br />
===History===<br />
<br />
====Origins====<br />
<br />
[[Image:Queen_Charlotte.JPG|frame|This statue near the Uptown Holiday Inn honors Charlotte's namesake. ]]<br />
<br />
Charlotte's earliest settlers were Presbyterians of Scots-Irish descent who built a small courthouse, marketplace and village at the intersection of ancient Native American trading paths (the actual intersection is the Square formed by Trade and Tryon Streets) during the middle of the 18th Century. Both Charlotte and Mecklenburg County were named in honor of the Germanic wife of King George III of England. In addition, the main thoroughfare (Tryon St.) was named in tribute to the English Governor of the day. The establishment of a courthouse made Charlotte the seat of Mecklenburg County, and it was known for little more in its early days.<br />
<br />
====Revolutionary war====<br />
<br />
Charlotte's early residents were fiercely independent, in accordance with their rural Protestant heritage. The city was known as a hotbed of separatism well prior to the American Revolution, culminating in the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence (signed a year prior to the American equivalent). The Square was the site of a minor skirmish with Cornwallis' army, which led to the city's characterization as a &quot;hornet's nest&quot; of rebellion. Nevertheless, the city remained a relatively obscure village, and was dubbed a &quot;trifling place&quot; by visiting President George Washington.<br />
<br />
====Pre-Civil war====<br />
<br />
The first signs of economic prosperity came to Charlotte with the discovery of a huge gold nugget at the site of modern-day Reed's Gold Mine. This triggered the United States' first gold rush, and dotted Mecklenburg County with gold mines. The mines contributed low-grade gold to the city's street-paving program, which led to the joke that the streets were literally paved with gold in Charlotte. Eventually the city earned the establishment of a U.S. Mint for currency production on modern-day Mint St. Perhaps most importantly, the city positioned itself as a railroad hub. With several lines intersecting in Charlotte, the city became a major destination for farmers wishing to distribute their tobacco and cotton crops nationwide. These events presaged Charlotte's future as a city of commerce and distribution.<br />
<br />
====Civil war====<br />
<br />
Thankfully, Charlotte was mostly spared the wide-scale destruction of the Civil War. The city contributed troops to the Confederate effort, many of whom are buried in the Confederate graveyard at modern-day Elmwood Cemetery. Curiously, landlocked Charlotte briefly became the home to the Confederate Naval Yard near the end of the war, as a result of its railroad connections. Also, the city was host to the final full meeting of the Confederate Cabinet, and Jefferson Davis was standing on Tryon St when informed of Lincoln's assassination (Davis' widow later retired to Charlotte). Generally, though, Charlotte was fortunate to play a relatively minor role in the devastating conflict. Its main casualty was the loss of the Mint, which was shut down for obvious reasons by the Union government.<br />
<br />
====Reconstruction====<br />
<br />
Charlotte has been noted as one of the South's most resilient cities in the wake of the Civil War. Having been spared the widespread destruction of cities such as Atlanta and Columbia, Charlotte was relatively free of obligations to rebuild infrastructure. It jumped quickly onto the &quot;New South&quot; bandwagon, increasing its ties to the railroads and mill industry. Some of the major mills established here after the War are still standing, and have mostly been converted into modern businesses and condominiums. Perhaps most importantly, Charlotte was a site of heavy financial investment by &quot;carpetbaggers&quot; (northern transplants who were eyed with suspicion or outright hostility). These upstart banks were the predecessors to Charlotte's modern banking giants. <br />
<br />
====20th century====<br />
<br />
At the turn of the century, Charlotte was still a small town in spite of its favorable position. But by the 1950s, it had exploded into the largest city in the Carolinas. Aggressive businessmen transformed the city into a financial juggernaut, and the distribution industry made a smooth transition from the railroad-dominated 19th century into the automotive 20th century. As the local textile and furniture industries faltered, Charlotte invested its energy into finance and transportation, enabling it to avoid the depressions suffered in many other Carolinas cities. By the 1970s, the city was into a full-scale economic boom. The population skyrocketed with immigration from around the USA and foreign countries. The city skyline began to transform as office towers sprouted on an almost yearly basis, and the suburbs pushed farther toward the county borders. By the end of the century, Charlotte had transformed from mill town into metropolis. <br />
<br />
====Today====<br />
<br />
It could be said that Charlotte's greatest struggle is with its own identity. The city remains tied to its roots as a giant of finance and transportation, but has diversified as it has grown. The rapid growth of the late-20th century lead to the unfortunate demolition of much of the city's historical infrastructure, giving Uptown a glittering feeling of newness despite its 250-year history. The city continues to focus on the development of its core, despite the explosion of suburban communities out of Mecklenburg County and into surrounding towns. One thing is definite, though: all indications are that the city will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, making it one of the United States' most prominent metro areas in the next decade.<br />
<br />
===Population===<br />
<br />
The city is full of &quot;transplants&quot; from [[New England]], [[Mid-Atlantic]] and [[Midwest]] regions, and a considerable immigrant population. Nevertheless, the city still has a sizeable population of locals who can remember when the city was still a medium-sized town centered around railroad distribution. Like most Southern cities, Charlotte has a large African-American population. Also, it has a significant community of Asian descent, and a very rapidly growing Hispanic population. What was once a white-and-black city has become increasingly colorful with each passing decade.<br />
<br />
===Orientation===<br />
<br />
Charlotte's physical arrangement reflects the growth trends of the 20th Century. Like most Southern American cities, it is &quot;sprawled&quot; over a relatively wide area for its size. Most of the city is suburban in nature, and most of those suburbs are less than 50 years old although some nearby towns such as Mint Hill date back well into the 1700s. These suburbs are encircled by the partially-completed I-485. <br />
<br />
However, unlike many of its peers, Charlotte has a very dense urban core that functions as an axis for its business and cultural life. The center of the city is therefore the primary destination for tourists and business travelers. <br />
<br />
What is often lost in this arrangement is a diverse, colorful ring of &quot;inner suburbs&quot; that lie in the zone between the core and the new suburban development. Most of Charlotte's most unique neighborhoods lie in this ring, as well as most of the city's &quot;underground&quot; activity. As a result, these areas have a highly local flavor and are just beginning to be discovered by tourists.<br />
<br />
===Talk===<br />
<br />
The major language is English. In recent years, the number of foreign-language establishments has begun to rise. In particular, Spanish-speaking shops and restaurants have become numerous on the city's east side. Also, there are a fair number of Asian establishments as well. There is a large shopping area called &quot;Asian Corners&quot;, and a part of the east side nicknamed &quot;little Hanoi&quot;. It is worth noting, however, that these areas make up a relatively small part of the English-dominated city.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
===Climate===<br />
<br />
{{Climate<br />
| units = Imperial<br />
| janhigh = 51<br />
| febhigh = 56<br />
| marhigh = 64<br />
| aprhigh = 73<br />
| mayhigh = 80<br />
| junhigh = 87<br />
| julhigh = 90<br />
| aughigh = 88<br />
| sephigh = 82<br />
| octhigh = 73<br />
| novhigh = 63<br />
| dechigh = 54<br />
| janlow = 32<br />
| feblow = 34<br />
| marlow = 42<br />
| aprlow = 49<br />
| maylow = 58<br />
| junlow = 66<br />
| jullow = 71<br />
| auglow = 69<br />
| seplow = 63<br />
| octlow = 51<br />
| novlow = 42<br />
| declow = 35<br />
| janprecip = 4.0<br />
| febprecip = 3.6<br />
| marprecip = 4.4<br />
| aprprecip = 3.0<br />
| mayprecip = 3.7<br />
| junprecip = 3.4<br />
| julprecip = 3.8<br />
| augprecip = 3.7<br />
| sepprecip = 3.8<br />
| octprecip = 3.7<br />
| novprecip = 3.4<br />
| decprecip = 3.2<br />
| description = {{ForecastNOAA|Charlotte|35.21|-80.84}} }}<br />
<br />
The temperature ranges from about 14 °F (-10 °C) to 104 °F (40 °C). On average, a summer high is about 90 °F (32 °C) and a winter low is about 32 °F (0 °C). Charlotte receives 43.52 in (1105.3 mm) of precipitation annually, most of which is in the form of rain (though there is some snow and ice in the winter). Charlotte is not as well equipped for snow and ice as more northerly cities; significant accumulations of snow (more than 2cm) or ice on the roads can disrupt activity city-wide. Usually, this includes the closing of local businesses and schools, and happens about once a year on average. Charlotte's inland location usually protects it from being hit directly from Atlantic hurricanes (the most recent exception being Hurricane Hugo in 1989), though it often receives heavy rains due to passing tropical systems.<br />
<br />
==Get in==<br />
<br />
===By plane===<br />
<br />
''' Charlotte Douglas International Airport''' ({{IATA|CLT}}), [http://www.charlotteairport.com] is on the west side of town near Billy Graham Parkway. A special bus line called Sprinter [http://www.ridetransit.org] runs regularly between the airport and Uptown. The airport is a major domestic and international hub for [[Star Alliance]] member '''US Airways''' [http://www.usairways.com]. US Airways serves over 120 domestic destinations from Charlotte/Douglas and over 35 international destinations, including Rome, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, Madrid, Mexico City and Rio de Janiero, among many others. The airport also receives flights from most other major airlines. '''Lufthansa''' [http://lufthansa.com], also aligned with Star Alliance, is the only foreign transoceanic carrier, with service to Munich. '''Air Canada''' [http://aircanada.com] has service to Toronto. '''Insel Air''' has flights to Curacao. Though the airport has diversified somewhat in the past few years, US Airways domestic flights are still its primary source of traffic. Due to this dominance by a single carrier, finding fare bargains can be a challenge.<br />
<br />
Passengers flying on US Airways, JetBlue,or Lufthansa, will arrive and depart from Concourse B, C, D, or E. Concourse D is the airports international concourse. All other airlines arrive and depart from Concourse A.<br />
<br />
Don't worry if you get hungry at CLT &amp;ndash; the airport is home to many restaurants and shops. While many of the restaurants are decently priced, the shops are not - charging upwards of $2 for a Coke.<br />
<br />
For those who need to remain connected, free WiFi is available at the Bank of America Business center, located in the central concourse. The center has multiple electrical outlets, comfy chairs, and several restaurants nearby. Throughout the airport free WiFi is available. Connect to the SSID '''CLTNET'''.<br />
<br />
Taxis charge a flat $25 rate for a trip from the airport to Uptown (for one or two passengers; additional charges apply for groups).<br />
<br />
===By train===<br />
<br />
The Amtrak [http://www.amtrak.com] station is on N Tryon near Dalton, on bus route 11 (North Tryon)[http://www.ridetransit.org]. If you arrive by train, be aware that this area is relatively seedy. Though you will be safe in and around the station, it is not a good idea to &quot;wing it&quot; once you arrive. Try to pre-arrange travel from the station to your next destination; walking is not recommended.<br />
<br />
===By car===<br />
<br />
The interstate highways through Charlotte are Interstates 85 (northeast-southwest) and 77 (north-south). I-85 takes you to [[Burlington (North Carolina)|Burlington]] and [[Greensboro]]. N.C. 74 is also a primary route into the city, and links with I-277.<br />
<br />
===By bus===<br />
<br />
*'''Greyhound''', [http://www.greyhound.com]. The station is just northwest of Uptown and is served by buses 8 (Tuckaseegee), 34 (Freedom Dr), and 7 (Beatties Ford).<br />
*'''Megabus''', [http://us.megabus.com]. Service from [[Atlanta]], [[Raleigh]]/[[Durham (North Carolina)|Durham]], [[Richmond (Virginia)|Richmond]], and [[Washington, D.C.]]. Buses arrive and depart along S Breveard St outside the Charlotte Transportation Center. Fares from $1 and up.<br />
<br />
==Get around==<br />
<br />
===By foot===<br />
<br />
Uptown is very dense, and almost all attractions in that part of town are easily reached by walking. However, only a few other districts (such as NoDa and Dilworth) are truly pedestrian-friendly. Outer districts, such as Ballantyne and University City, are pedestrian-unfriendly areas. If you must walk, give some thought to the weather; summer days in the South are quite hot and it is easy to get dehydrated.<br />
<br />
===By car===<br />
<br />
Uptown is laid out in a grid, with numbered streets running east-west with few exceptions. Streets running north-south have proper names. Charlotte's outer suburbs are often difficult to navigate. Most roads are built according to the natural lay of the land; once you leave the I-277 loop, you are likely to find it increasingly difficult to predict the direction (and often, the name) of the road you are traveling on. Therefore, it is a good idea to make certain your directions are specific and trustworthy before venturing into an unknown area. Otherwise, you will likely find yourself relying on the (usually) friendly natives for directions back to your starting point.<br />
<br />
Note that while I-277 has been completed for some time, I-485 is incomplete and still under construction. The northwestern quadrant of I-485 is still missing, but the rest of the freeway is quite useful for circling the perimeter of the city. <br />
<br />
Similarly, I-277 is very useful when moving quickly around the center city. However, it is important to understand that one side of the &quot;loop&quot; is actually I-77, which interchanges with I-277 in two places. It is easy to misread the signs and end up moving farther along I-77 rather than circling back onto I-277. When using the loop, be sure to follow signs for &quot;Downtown&quot; in order to stay on the correct path. <br />
<br />
Secondary roads in Charlotte are notoriously difficult to navigate. In particular, visitors and residents alike are often befuddled by frequent name changes in the roads. To make matters worse, many roads in the city share similar names. Also, very few of the city's roads are based on a grid or similarly organized system; most of the roads outside the city core are winding avenues that follow the natural features of the land. <br />
<br />
The city can be a delight to explore by car, but visitors are strongly advised to pick up a free map [http://www.mapcharlotte.com/charlotte_distribution.html]or purchase a road map upon arrival. A GPS unit with the most current updates can, of course, make travel in and around Charlotte immensely more enjoyable.<br />
<br />
===By public transit===<br />
<br />
====By taxi====<br />
<br />
Available to any part of Charlotte. There are several prominent companies, and unlike larger cities (for instance, [[New York City]] or [[London]]) the design of the vehicles is not uniform. However, a taxi is always recognizable by a sign on the roof of the car. If the taxi is vacant, the sign will be lit up; if it has a passenger, the sign will be off. It is customary to give a tip to cab drivers, especially if they help you with luggage or other items. It is usually a good idea to inquire about the fare before boarding if you are planning to make a longer trip; Charlotte's sprawled-out nature can lead to high fares for trips outside the center city.<br />
<br />
Cab fares in Charlotte are regulated by the city, and are consistent for all companies. The &quot;drop charge&quot; (pickup rate) is $2.50, and each 1/5th mile is $0.50. During weekday rush hours (7-9AM and 4-6PM), you will also be charged $0.50 for every minute spent in stopped traffic. For a direct one-way trip to or from the airport, the rate is a flat $25. You can save money by sharing a cab with a companion, but be aware that there is a $2 charge for each person after 2.<br />
<br />
====By light rail====<br />
'''LYNX Blue Line''' [http://www.charmeck.org/departments/cats/lynx/home.htm] light rail corridor is a rapid and efficient way to commute from Uptown to the southern edges of Mecklenburg County. It stops at major Uptown destination (Time Warner Cable Arena, the Convention Center), travels through South End, and proceeds along South Blvd all the way down to I-485. Frequency varies from 7-10 minutes on weekdays to 20-30 minutes on weekends. Fares are $1.75 for a one-way ticket (discounts for seniors and youth) and $4.50 for a day pass. Tickets are good for 90 minutes and allow for transfer to CATS transit buses.<br />
<br />
====By bus====<br />
'''Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS)''' [http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Home.htm] operates transit service throughout the Charlotte area. Most bus routes start at the teal-roofed Transportation Center in Uptown (across the street from the Time Warner Cable Arena) and go toward the suburbs like spokes on a wheel (roughly). Though they are generally clean and safe, they are usually not the most efficient way to get around the city. Bus fare is $1.75 for a one-leg or two-leg trip, $2 for an express bus (these run mornings and evenings and go to an outlying area without stopping), and $0.60 for a shuttle. Allow 45 minutes for a one-leg trip, 2 hours for a two-leg trip. Bus transfers can be used on the LYNX light rail and are valid for 90 minutes after issue. Also, be aware of the colorfully-painted buses in the suburbs that connect neighborhoods to primary routes.<br />
<br />
====By trolley====<br />
'''Charlotte Trolley''' [http://www.charlottetrolley.org/] is a replica streetcar system that operates on the LYNX line between the South End and Uptown. The Trolley stops at LYNX Light Rail stations in Uptown and South End as well as stops at Atherton Mill, Tremont and 9th St. Fare is $1.75 each way.<br />
<br />
===By bicycle===<br />
Some parts of Charlotte are very friendly to cyclists, especially the south-central area around Myers Park and Dilworth, but be aware that most of the city is not friendly toward bikers. It is a good idea to research in advance to identify streets with designated bike lanes on the right-hand side of the road. Be aware that bicycles are subject to the same traffic laws as cars. Helmets are recommended but not required for adults.<br />
<br />
==See==<br />
<br />
===Itineraries===<br />
<br />
* '''[[Charlotte with children]]''' - itinerary for travellers with children<br />
<br />
===Museums===<br />
<br />
There are numerous museums and historic sites scattered throughout the city, especially in and near [[Uptown Charlotte|Uptown]]. In the next year or two, a new &quot;museum district&quot; will arise on the southern edge of the district; at roughly the same time, the NASCAR Hall of Fame will open near the Convention Center. See individual districts for a more thorough list of museums. <br />
<br />
* '''The Mint Museum'''+1'' 704-337-2000, [http://www.mintmuseum.org]. Tu 10AM-9PM, W-Sa 10AM-6PM, Su 1PM-5PM. Closed Mondays and major holidays. The Mint Museum offers two locations; the Mint Museum Randolph located at 2730 Randolph Rd offers Decorative Arts, Art of the Ancient Americas, Colonial, Historic Costume Collection, North Carolina Ceramics, and coin collection; the Mint Museum Uptown offers Contemporary Art, American Art, European Painting, and the Mint Museum of Craft + Design. in addition to the permanent collections each location hosts special traveling exhibitions. Admission: Adults $10, Seniors and Students $8, Children 5-17 $5, and children under 5 are free. <br />
<br />
* '''Discovery Place''', on N Tryon between 6th and 7th, ''+1'' 704-372-6261, [http://www.discoveryplace.org]. 10 AM-6PM or 9AM-5PM, except on Sunday when it opens at 12:30PM. One of the nation's most acclaimed children's museums. Focuses primarily on the sciences, though special exhibits (such as the recent exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls) may have a more general focus. Step into the rainforest, see and feel the fish, watch a hydrogen balloon explode and a frozen banana hammer. $7.50 for Discovery Halls, $7.50 for OMNIMAX, $13 for both. $12/$10 for Museum, $10/$9 for IMAX, $17/$15 for both.<br />
<br />
* '''Levine Museum of the New South''', 200 E 7th St, ''+1'' 704-333-1887, [http://www.museumofthenewsouth.org]. Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM, Sunday 12PM-5PM. An excellent introduction to the South's history and influences over the past centuries. Boasting an excellent standing exhibit with walk-throughs and hands-on experiences, this is a great museum for &quot;new&quot; and old Southerners alike. Highly recommended for visitors seeking an understanding of Southern culture and history. Closed Mondays. $6 adults, $5 seniors and minors, under 6 free, $17 family. <br />
<br />
* '''James K Polk Historic Site''', 12031 Lancaster Hwy, Pineville, ''+1'' 704-889-7145, [http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/polk/polk.htm]. Tu-Sa 9AM-5PM. From Interstate 77 south of Charlotte take Interstate 485 east (Exit 2). At the Pineville exit take Polk Street south through the town of Pineville. The Polk Memorial is on the left. The museum offers tours and information about the home of U.S. President James K. Polk, as well as a reconstruction of his house. Monthly special events. Free. <br />
<br />
* '''Carolinas Aviation Museum''', 4108 Airport Dr (''at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport''), ''+1'' 704-359-8442 (''fax: ''+1'' 704-359-0057''), [http://www.carolinasaviation.org]. Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 1PM-5PM. This is a big attraction for aviation fanatics. This museum features a wide variety of resources including historic and restored airplanes, air shows and a library (by research request only). Because it is located at Charlotte-Douglas, it is the only attraction in the city that can be reached by airplane. If you want to meet people working on restoring the airplanes, come on a Tuesday or Thursday. (It is also a great place to watch takeoffs and landings at the airport.)<br />
<br />
===Venues===<br />
<br />
* ''' Bojangles' Coliseum''', 2700 E Independence Blvd, ''+1 704'' 372-3600, [http://www.cricketarenacharlotte.com]. Historic domed arena in southeast Charlotte on NC-74. Once the largest concrete free-standing dome in the world, it has played host to Elvis, Jimi Hendrix and many sporting events. Currently used for community events, conventions and smaller musical acts. Formerly known as Cricket Arena and Independence Arena. <br />
<br />
* '''Memorial Stadium''', 310 N Kings Dr, ''+1 704'' 353-0200. Adjacent to the CPCC campus south of Uptown, with a spectacular skyline view. Generally used for smaller events such as high school and college football games and band competitions. In 2006 it was the site of the city's main 4th of July fireworks display.<br />
<br />
* ''' Verizon Wireless Amphitheater''', (704) 549-5555. 707 Pavilion Boulevard. This is the venue for big shows in Charlotte. You can get on the lawn for cheaper than seating under the canopy, but you may not be able to see the performers except on the huge big screen.<br />
<br />
===Movies===<br />
<br />
* '''Ballantyne Village Theatre''', 14815 John J. Delaney Dr, ''+1'' 704-369-5101. Brand-new theater in the southern suburb of Ballantyne. Noted for its bold decision to show independent films on only 4 screens, despite being part of the landmark Ballantyne Village shopping center. Pitches its product as a &quot;luxury&quot; experience with fine dining and other amenities nearby.<br />
<br />
* '''Belmont Drive-In''', 314 McAdenville Rd, Belmont, ''+1'' 704-825-6044. [http://www.belmontdrivein.20megsfree.com/] A traditional drive-in movie theater, located off NC-74 in the nearby town of Belmont. Very strongly recommended for visitors looking for &quot;local color&quot;. Extremely cheap compared to a regular theater ($6 per car, regardless of how many people you cram in), welcoming of pets and kids, and serves pretty good concessions. Typically shows 2-3 movies in an evening, and you're free to leave at any time.<br />
<br />
* '''Regal Manor Twin''', 609 Providence Rd, ''+1'' 704-334-2727. The quintessential independent theater in Charlotte, and the oldest cinema that is still in operation. There are only two screens, and parking is limited, but this is generally the place to find that indie that you can't find anywhere else in the region.<br />
<br />
===Theater===<br />
<br />
There are several major theaters and a few fringe groups scattered throughout the city, especially in and near [[Uptown Charlotte|Uptown]]. <br />
<br />
[[Image:Imaginon.jpg|thumb|400px|Imaginon and Children's Theatre of Charlotte]]<br />
<br />
* '''The Children's Theatre of Charlotte''', 300 E 7th St, ''+1 704'' 973-2800, [http://www.ctcharlotte.org/]. M-Th 9AM-9PM, F-Sa 9AM-6PM, Su 1PM-6PM. For weekend evening performances ImaginOn re-opens one hour prior to performance time. Box Office hours M-F 10AM-5PM, and one hour prior to all performances for walk-up guests (box office phones are not answered on weekends). Founded in 1948, it has been opening young minds to the wonders of live theater for over half a century. Annually, it reaches more than 320,000 young people and families from preschool to late teens, with four program areas: MainStage productions; Tarradiddle Players, the professional touring company; and Community Involvement Program. Ticket prices vary. <br />
<br />
<br />
* '''Actor's Theatre of Charlotte''', 650 E Stonewall St, ''+1 704'' 342-2251, [http://www.actorstheatrecharlotte.org]. M-Th 9AM-9PM, F-Sa 9AM-6PM, Su 1PM-6PM. Highly awarded professional theater in existence since 1989. Diverse dramas and musicals fill the seasons here and no production fails. Besides their main stage productions, the theater is home to a late night series called 650 which are usually free, otherwise- ticket prices vary. <br />
<br />
* '''Carolina Actor's Studio Theatre (CAST)''', 1118 Clement Ave, ''+1 704'' 455-8542, [http://www.nccast.com]. M-Th 9AM-9PM, F-Sa 9AM-6PM, Su 1PM-6PM. Tucked back in the Plaza- Midwood area is a space that prides itself on diverse EXPERIENTIAL theater. Many productions incorporate multi-media and other performing art forms and is the most daring of the spaces around the city. The theater has two intimate spaces, including the 'boxagon' which has a rotating stage. Ticket prices vary. <br />
<br />
* '''Theatre Charlotte''', 501 Queens Rd, ''+1 704'' 376-3777, [http://www.theatrecharlotte.org]. M-Th 9AM-6PM, F-Sa 9AM-4PM, closed Su. With a production history dating from 1927, is Charlotte's oldest arts organization as well as the oldest continually producing community theater in the state. <br />
<br />
* '''Charlotte Comedy Theatre''', ''+1 704 ''467-7681, [http://www.charlottecomedy.com]. M-Sa 8PM-midnight. The only 'strictly' comedy venue in Charlotte at the moment. Made of up of Charlotte's most notorious improvisers, founded and directed by an 13 year Chicago improv veteran.<br />
<br />
* '''Blumenthal and Spirit Square''', 130 N. Tryon St, ''+1 704'' 372-1000, [http://www.blumenthalcenter.org/]. M-Th 9AM-9PM, F-Sa 9AM-6PM, Su 1PM-6PM. The Performing Arts Center has three performance spaces: the 2,100-seat Belk Theater; the 434-seat Booth Playhouse, and the Stage Door Theater which seats 150. The Center presents the Broadway Lights Series, featuring national touring Broadway productions and a wide range of special attractions. Home to the seasons of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Opera Carolina, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Carolina Voices, the Carolinas Concert Association, ArtsTeach, Community School of the Arts, and the Light Factory.<br />
<br />
* '''UNC Charlotte Theatre and Dance''', [http://www.theatre.uncc.edu]. M-Th 9AM-6PM, F-Sa 9AM-4PM. Performs several times throughout the year. For information on the Department of Dance, please call: 704-687-3625 or email them at shermoor@uncc.edu<br />
<br />
* '''Central Piedmont Community College Theatre ''', ''+1 704 ''330-6534, [http://arts.cpcc.edu/performing-arts/theatre]. M-Th 9AM-6PM, F-Sa 9AM-4PM. Performs several times throughout the year and has a professional summer series. Tickets are available at [http://www.carolinatix.org/]<br />
<br />
* '''Collaborative Arts Theatre''', ''+1 704'' 625-1288, [http://www.collaborativeartstheatre.com]. M-Th 6PM-midnight, F-Sa 9AM-6PM. Founded in 2006, this small award-winning professional theatre company produces contemporary plays in various locations as well as The Charlotte Shakespeare Festival, a popular annual free summer festival, which takes place both outdoors at The Green Uptown and indoors at The McGlohon Theatre in Spirit Square. <br />
<br />
* '''Shakespeare Carolina''', [http://wwww.shakescar.org]. M-Th 6PM-midnight, F-Sa 9AM-6PM. Founded in 1997, they produce Shakespeare plays during the summer.<br />
<br />
* '''Citizens of the Universe''', ''+1 704'' 449-9742, [http://www.citizensoftheuniverse.org]. M-Th 6PM-midnight, F-Sa 9AM-6PM. COTU is one of two active fringe theaters in Charlotte. With no set season and no set theater, this company performs in the environment available to them. Hard to catch, this theater specializes in book/ film translations to stage.<br />
<br />
* '''Play!Play! Theatre''', [http://sites.google.com/site/playplaytheatre/home]. M-Th 6PM-midnight, F-Sa 9AM-6PM. Active children's theatre. PlayPlay! creates plays specifically for children ages birth to age 3.<br />
<br />
==Do==<br />
<br />
<br />
===Sports===<br />
<br />
Professional sports are one of Charlotte's most popular forms of entertainment. Though its roots are primarily in stock car racing, the city offers something for fans of nearly every kind of sport. In particular, its success in the NFL and NBA have given it widespread exposure as a growing sports hub.<br />
<br />
[[Image:Bank_of_America_Stadium.JPG|frame|Bank of America Stadium is home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers. ]]<br />
<br />
'''NASCAR''' events take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is technically outside of Charlotte in Concord, North Carolina. Charlotte is the de facto hub of stock car racing in the U.S., with several NASCAR teams based in the city. 3 NASCAR Sprint Cup races take place each season, including the All-Star Race [http://www.nascar.com/promos/2005/all_star] and the Coca-Cola 600. Additionally, Charlotte was chosen as the home for the NASCAR Hall of Fame and headquarters, which will be located near the Convention Center in Uptown. Each year Charlotte hosts &quot;Speed Street&quot;, a large festival featuring various racing-themed attractions and a long list of musical guests. The '''Carolina Panthers''' is the city's NFL franchise. Games are played at Bank of America stadium. In 2002, was awarded a new NBA franchise, the '''Bobcats''' after the city's first NBA team left for New Orleans in an ugly divorce ending in 2002. These events take place in [[Charlotte/Uptown|Uptown]].<br />
<br />
Minor league sports include the '''Charlotte Knights''' (AAA baseball) which operates in Fort Mill, [[South Carolina]], one exit past Carowinds. The '''Charlotte Checkers''' ice hockey team play in Uptown and is cheap fun (Charlotte was the first city south of Baltimore to host professional hockey and has had a team for most of the last 50 years). The '''Carolina Speed''' is the fourth professional indoor football team to be based in Charlotte, with games taking place in [[Charlotte/East Charlotte|East Charlotte]]. The '''Charlotte Eagles''' soccer team play near [[Charlotte/SouthPark|SouthPark]]. '''Charlotte Rugby Football Club''' [http://www.charlotterugby.com/], which play northwest of Uptown, and '''Charlotte Roller Girls''', with games in [[Charlotte/Elizabeth|Elizabeth]] complete a vast list of professional, minor league and club sports to enjoy in the city.<br />
<br />
===Parks===<br />
<br />
Charlotte has been noted for its &quot;green&quot; appearance, due to its extensive tree canopy and abundance of parks. See the individual district pages for listings of major city parks. Outdoor adventurers may revel in the pleasures offered at the '''U.S. National Whitewater Center''' [http://www.usnwc.org/].<br />
<br />
===Music===<br />
<br />
* '''The Double Door Inn''', 218 E Independence Blvd, ''+1 704'' 376-1446, [http://www.doubledoorinn.com]. Legendary for its blues history, and one of the city's most beloved institutions. Any long-time Charlottean will tell you the story about Eric Clapton's impromptu set at the Double Door; a framed newspaper article over the bar is proof. Hosts musical acts on most nights of the week. Very intimate, and more for the drink-and-watch crowd. <br />
<br />
* '''The Evening Muse''', 3227 N Davidson St, ''+1 704'' 376-3737, [http://www.eveningmuse.com]. Located in the NoDa district, the Evening Muse is noted for its variety of music ranging from light folk to rockabilly, and open mic on Monday nights.<br />
<br />
* '''The Milestone''', 3400 Tuckaseegee Rd, ''+1 704'' 398-0472, [http://www.themilestoneclub.com]. Almost forgotten in Charlotte's mainstream entertainment scene, this veteran club has a shockingly prestigious music history -- Nirvana, the Flaming Lips, and R.E.M. have all graced the stage here. Though the interior looks like something out of skid row, there is a well-cultivated hipster vibe at the Milestone that is virtually untouched anywhere else in the city. Mention this one in conversation to gauge a friend's true cool-factor.<br />
<br />
* '''Tremont Music Hall''', 400 W Tremont Ave, ''+1 704'' 343-9494, [http://www.tremontmusichall.com]. Premier stop for National Acts specializing in modern rock, indie rock, punk, hardcore, metal, emo, SKA, roots rock and others. Great place to see a band as you’re never more than 50 ft from the stage.<br />
<br />
* '''Amos' Southend''', 1423 S Tryon, ''+1 704'' 377-6874, [http://www.amossouthend.com]. All types of bands play here especially cover bands.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
===Golf===<br />
<br />
Golf is a major sport in the Carolinas, and is played nearly year-round due to the mild autumn and spring seasons. Several private, semi-private and country clubs courses are available.<br />
<br />
===Tours===<br />
<br />
* '''Driving Tours''' [http://www.queencitytours.com] Queen City Tours covers most of the center city and surrounding area. Note that they offer different types of tour service for different group sizes. This tour shows Uptown, Dilworth and Myers Park.<br />
<br />
* '''Helicopter Tours''' [http://www.ncrotorandwing.com] North Carolina Rotor and Wing offers a birds' eye view of The Queen City and its surrounding neighborhoods.<br />
<br />
* '''Charlotte 101 Class and Tour'''[http://cpcc.edu/pi] Central Piedmont Community College offers a quarterly combination classroom lecture and tour about the Queen City for 6 hours. Pre-registration required.<br />
<br />
===Annual Events===<br />
* '''Heroes Convention''' [http://www.heroesonline.com/heroescon/] Named &quot;America's favorite comic book convention&quot;, Heroes Con has been hosted in Charlotte for the past thirty years and is one of the nations largest and most important comic book conventions. It is held every June in the Charlotte Convention Center and lasts for three days.<br />
<br />
* '''CIAA Basketball Tournament''' [http://www.ciaatournament.org/index.php] will come to Charlotte in early March for the next several years. Historically-black colleges from across the country bring their teams, alums and fans to the center city for a week of games... and accompanying parties and conventions. Games are held in Bobcats Arena. Other events take place throughout the city, including a festival along Tryon St.<br />
<br />
* '''St. Patrick's Day Parade''' [http://www.saintpatricksdayparade.com/charlotte/charlotte.htm] is not on the scale of [[Boston]] or [[NYC]], but always well-attended and a fun time to visit the Irish restaurants Uptown. The parade goes up Tryon St., and the best place to view is at the Square.<br />
<br />
* '''Southern Spring Home and Garden Show''' [http://www.southernshows.com/sss/] has brought designers and experts to the city for nearly 50 years. Held in March, and located at the Merchandise Mart. $9 at the door, kids free. <br />
<br />
* The Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before Memorial Day, '''Speed Street''' [http://www.600festival.com] brings half a million partiers to the center city for major musical acts and events related to the NASCAR All-Star Race. This event shuts down several major streets, and covers the entirety of Uptown with crowds after sundown. Parking is usually stretched to the limit, and hotels will be difficult to find. However, this is an excellent time for hard partiers to see the city at its most active. <br />
<br />
* Charlotte is not known as a horse-racing hub, but the '''Queen's Cup Steeplechase''' [http://www.queenscup.org] gives the city an event to call its own. Located about 45 minutes from the center city in Mineral Springs. Held in mid-April.<br />
<br />
* There is no better time to visit South End than during the '''Art and Soul of South End Festival''' [http://www.artandsoulofsouthend.com] in April. Several major events coincide to bring the district a variety of visual art, music and entertainment. Prices vary based on event, but most is free to attend. <br />
<br />
* '''PGA Quail Hollow Championship''' [http://www.wachoviachampionship.com] brings the world's best golfers to Quail Hollow Country Club for a weekend in April. As one would expect, there are plenty of wine-and-cheese events associated with the championship... as well as a noticeable upturn in Polo shirts at Uptown clubs. <br />
<br />
* '''Taste of Charlotte''' [http://www.tasteofcharlotte.com] festival in June is far and away the best time to bring an appetite to the city. Tryon St. closes down for the weekend and many of the city's best restaurants are represented with samples of their signature dishes. <br />
<br />
* '''Fourth of July Fireworks Display''' has shifted locations several times lately, but is always located somewhere in Uptown. This event draws nearly 100,000 visitors to the center city at once; be prepared to sit in gridlock, especially during the display when streets will come to a complete halt. Using public transit to park-and-ride from another district is recommended. <br />
<br />
* Also in July, comic book collectors meet for the annual '''Heroes Convention''' at the Convention Center. <br />
<br />
* '''Black Gay Pride Festival''' has made inroads as an annual festival in July. <br />
<br />
* '''Charlotte Pride''' is a more general gay-pride festival in August. It has shifted locations, most recently to the Gateway Village area on the edge of Uptown. It has grown significantly since its inception. <br />
<br />
* '''September''' is one of the best times to visit the city. The city's '''Labor Day Parade''' along Tryon St is modest, but a well-established annual event. The month-long '''Charlotte Shout''' [http://www.charlotteshout.com] collaboration includes not only cultural festivals and events, but also a day of free admissions to important cultural locations. For over 40 years, '''Festival in the Park''' [http://www.festivalinthepark.org] has transformed Freedom Park into a massive marketplace and fair. The new '''Charlotte Film Festival''' [http://www.charlottefilmfestival.org] is a collaboration between the city's most prominent theaters in and around the center city. Also, the '''Yiasou Greek Festival''' [http://www.greekorthodoxclt.org/yiasou.htm] is a long-running tradition at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church that draws a huge crowd for its mouth-watering food and unique shopping opportunities. <br />
<br />
* The Public Library of Charlotte hosts the Novello Festival of Reading [http://www.novellofestival.net] in October. This series of readings and events brings well-known authors (such as Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Toni Morrison) to the city. Prices vary based on event, most of which are held at the Central Branch. <br />
<br />
* '''Scarowinds''' [http://www2.paramountparks.com/carowinds/] is the city's most unique Halloween event. The Carowinds theme park turns ghoulish after dark, with special decor and events. Though it's a bit pricey, it never draws complaints of overpricing. $29, no kids. <br />
<br />
* '''Carolina Renaissance Festival''' [http://www.royalfaires.com/carolina/] is in late Fall. Located just outside the city, it is a family-friendly reenactment of Elizabethan times. Features a wide array of shopping and themed events. $15 for adults, $5 for children. <br />
<br />
* '''Southern Christmas Show''' [http://www.southernshows.com/scs/] in late November is one of the region's biggest holiday shopping events. The Merchandise Mart on E Independence Blvd hosts the event. $8 at the door for adults, $3 for kids. $6 per car to park all day. <br />
<br />
* '''EclecFest''' [http://prelude.realeyesbookstore.com] is a fledgling November festival in NoDa, started by the owner of a local bookstore. A combination flea market and cultural festival, this event is a good way to get introduced to the stores and locals of NoDa. Parking is typically available on and around N. Davidson St.<br />
<br />
* '''Charlotte International Auto Show''' [http://www.charlotteautoshow.com] brings various dealers and buyers together. Located in the Convention Center and usually in November. Adults $8, kids free. <br />
<br />
* '''Carrousel Thanksgiving Day Parade''' [http://www.carrouselparade.org] is one of the city's most beloved annual events. Televised regionally, this parade has run along Tryon St for half a century. A great time to visit. <br />
<br />
* '''Charlotte Collectible and Antique Show''' [http://www.dmgantiqueshows.com] comes to Metrolina Expo on Statesville Rd. each December. The name says it all: shopping opportunities abound. $5, kids free. <br />
<br />
* For college football fans, the '''Meineke Car Care Bowl''' [http://www.meinekecarcarebowl.com] is a chance to catch a great game as well as a football-themed festival. An ACC team and a Big East team close out their seasons in Bank of America Stadium. Price varies year-to-year.<br />
<br />
==Learn==<br />
<br />
* '''University of North Carolina at Charlotte ''' [http://www.uncc.edu/] UNC Charlotte is a public research university that is home to over 25,000 graduate and undergraduate students. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina.<br />
<br />
* '''Johnson C. Smith University''' [http://www.jcsu.edu] - A historically African-American university located just outside Uptown. The centerpiece of the historic Biddleville community, J.C. Smith's campus is a picturesque gateway to the north/west side of the city.<br />
<br />
* '''Queens University of Charlotte''' [http://www.queens.edu/] Queens University of Charlotte is a private, coed, masters level university with 2,600 graduate and undergraduate students. It is affiliated with Presbyterian USA.<br />
<br />
* '''Central Piedmont Community College''' [http://www.cpcc.edu] - CPCC has been a part of the Charlotte landscape for almost 50 years. It has six campuses located throughout Mecklenburg County and serves more than 70,000 students a year.<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
<br />
Charlotte is a city that thrives on big business (specifically banking and is thus the second leading banking center in the country). Its most visible employers are Wells Fargo/Wachovia (the city's largest employer), Bank of America, Duke Energy, Nucor, Sonic Automotive, Continental Tire NA, SPX, Lowe's and Family Dollar. Though the Uptown area has the largest concentration of business offices, the entire metro area has sprouted office and industrial parks. In particular, the gleaming mid rises of SouthPark and Ballantyne are worth noting if you're in those areas. There are several Fortune 500 companies and is regularly listed as one of the U.S.'s fastest-growing business areas, as well as one of the best places to do business in the nation.<br />
<br />
==Buy==<br />
<br />
One of Charlotte's biggest weaknesses is the relative lack of retail shopping in the center city. Though this will change somewhat in the near future, you will generally have to venture into the suburbs to do your shopping. As with most American cities, most retail is in malls and shopping centers, though some areas (especially the inner suburbs) have stores along the streets. <br />
<br />
*'''Metropolitan Midtown''', [http://www.metmidtown.com/] just outside the central business district, is the redevelopment of the former Charlottetown Mall. '''Concord Mills''' [http://www.concordmills.com] is not technically in Charlotte, but is the largest shopping destination in the region. '''Carolina Place Mall''' [http://www.carolinaplace.com] is a large mall near the southern city line, convenient to the southern suburbs and stateline. '''Eastland Mall''' [http://www.eastlandmall.com] is an older Charlotte mall that is slated for a revitalization while '''Northlake Mall''' [http://www.shopnorthlake.com] is a new mall in north Charlotte, convenient to the University area and Lake Norman area. '''SouthPark Mall''' [http://www.southpark.com] is arguably Charlotte's largest and most upscale mall, 6 mi south of center city. '''Belgate''' [http://www.crescent-resources.com/retail/belgate/default.asp] features the first IKEA store in the Carolinas.<br />
<br />
* If you are looking to shop outside the commercial retail sector, try exploring some of the districts just outside the I-277 loop. In particular, the '''Dilworth and Plaza-Midwood''' areas are good places to visit unique, funky stores. East Blvd. (upscale) and Thomas St. (downscale) are both good places to find unusual items. <br />
<br />
* There are several market-style locations scattered across the city. There is a &quot;green market&quot; [http://www.centercitygreenmarket.com] during the warmer months on E 7th St near Tryon, the EclecFest market [http://prelude.realeyesbookstore.com/eclecfest.html] (every second Saturday) behind the Neighborhood Theater on N. Davidson St., and many flea markets in and around the city.<br />
<br />
==Eat==<br />
For the most part, Charlotte's culinary tastes are in line with the rest of the American South. Standards such as grits, sweet potatoes (yams), and greens are common in kitchens and restaurants. Southern food is typically high in fats and carbohydrates, so dieters should be careful to stick to higher-end restaurants that serve a more cosmopolitan fare. Otherwise, dig in and enjoy the richness of the Southern diet. <br />
<br />
Many of Charlotte's older restaurants are owned by Greek families. Often, you will unexpectedly find Greek items on the menus of restaurants that otherwise serve American fare.<br />
<br />
North Carolinians have long been fiercely competitive about their barbecue, and Charlotte's eateries reflect that heritage. Outsiders beware: Carolinas &quot;barbeque&quot; is chopped and sauced pork. The sauce will depend on which region it comes from (east or west), and it all works well as a sandwich (though you usually get to choose between sandwich or plate). Barbecue sandwiches are invariably served with slaw (either a vinegar-based red slaw, or a mayonnaise-based white slaw) on the meat, though it will be left out or on the side if you request. This is a local custom and one of the many things that makes Charlotte and more generally NC interesting.<br />
<br />
&quot;Carolinas style&quot; hamburgers and hot dogs are typically served with mustard, chili, and cole slaw, though some restaurants will vary their toppings slightly to create a &quot;signature&quot;. <br />
<br />
Krispy Kreme donuts are produced in nearby [[Winston-Salem]], and are widely available. Also, Lance Snacks is based in Charlotte.<br />
<br />
The dominant local grocery chains are Harris Teeter and Food Lion, both owned by N.C. companies. Harris Teeter is relatively expensive but more upscale. Food Lion is a middle-class favorite, and usually has an extensive ethnic section. Other groceries include Bi-Lo, ALDI, Lowes Foods, and Bloom (a high-tech spin off of Food Lion). The city is also dotted with dozens of ethnic groceries, especially Hispanic, Indian and Vietnamese. Check out Compare Foods stores dotted around the city.<br />
<br />
The specialty grocery store scene is also growing, as Charlotte has three Trader Joe's stores, two Earth Fare stores and two Fresh Markets. These stores specialize in natural and organic foods. For something a little bit more local, try the Home Economist or the quaint Berrybrook Farms.<br />
==Drink==<br />
<br />
'''Liquor''' is available by the drink in the city of Charlotte. However, some smaller towns in the region prohibit liquor sales. If you plan to explore nearby counties, there is a chance you may encounter a &quot;dry&quot; area. Open containers of alcohol are never permitted on the street; if you order a beverage you must finish it before leaving the restaurant or bar. If you want to buy liquor by the bottle, you must do it at state-run ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Commission) stores, rather than at traditional liquor stores. '''Beer and wine''' are available for purchase at most markets, grocery stores and gas stations. <br />
<br />
'''Cheerwine''', a cherry-flavored soft drink, is a local favorite. Sundrop [http://www.sundrop.net], available in a unique citrus blend and cherry-lemon, is based out of Gastonia and is a favorite among locals. R.C. Cola is also a &quot;traditional&quot; Southern soft drink. <br />
<br />
If you are not from the American South, you may be surprised to see '''sweet iced tea''' is the predominant non-carbonated drink (and is arguably sweeter).<br />
<br />
The city's nightlife is centered in [[Uptown Charlotte|Uptown]], which is host to a wide variety of nightclubs. The largest concentration of clubs in the city is around College St. near its intersection with 5th St.; however, a quick check of local listing reveals plenty of alternatives for those who are seeking a more reserved atmosphere. See district listings for more details.<br />
<br />
==Sleep==<br />
<br />
If you are not driving or renting a car during your visit, it is highly advisable to try to find lodging near the center city (these can be found in the district articles). Otherwise you will be stuck paying cab and bus fares, and you will find it quite difficult to move around as freely as you'd like. Most of the city's large hotels are located either uptown, near the airport, or in the University area. There are also some luxury hotels appearing in Ballantyne, and there are the typical options off the highways and interstate exits. <br />
<br />
Below are listings for locations near the airport and Carowinds theme park, neither of which belong to a designated district.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
===Airport===<br />
<br />
* &lt;sleep name=&quot;AmeriSuites Charlotte/Coliseum&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;4119 S Stream Blvd&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 704 357-8555&quot; tollfree=&quot;&quot; email=&quot;&quot; fax=&quot;+1 704 357-8555&quot; url=&quot;http://www.amerisuites.com/reservations/locationdetail.asp?facid=3998&quot; checkin=&quot;&quot; checkout=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;$90&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Formerly this hotel’s main attraction was its proximity to the Charlotte Coliseum. Since the Coliseum’s closing in 2005, it is now primarily a business hotel with relatively convenient access to the airport. Offers a complimentary airport shuttle and has rooms designed for business travelers. Fitness center, breakfast buffet, pool.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
* &lt;sleep name=&quot;Microtel Inns and Suites (Airport)&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;3412 S I-85 Service Rd&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 704 398-9606&quot; tollfree=&quot;&quot; email=&quot;&quot; fax=&quot;&quot; url=&quot;http://microtelinn.com&quot; checkin=&quot;&quot; checkout=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;$50&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Good low-fare option for business travelers planning to fly into the city. Immediate access to I-85 lets you get about the city quickly.&lt;/sleep&gt; <br />
<br />
* &lt;sleep name=&quot;Hyatt Summerfield Suites Charlotte Airport&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;4920 S Tryon St&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 704 525-2600&quot; tollfree=&quot;&quot; email=&quot;&quot; fax=&quot;&quot; url=&quot;http://www.hyatt.com/hyatt/summerfield&quot; checkin=&quot;&quot; checkout=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;In the center of a Fortune 500 corridor, 3 mi from downtown and major convention centers.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
* &lt;sleep name=&quot;La Quinta Inn and Suites&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;4900 S Tryon St&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 704-523-5599&quot; tollfree=&quot;&quot; email=&quot;&quot; fax=&quot;&quot; url=&quot;&quot; checkin=&quot;&quot; checkout=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;$50-$115&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Air travelers enjoy. From the hotel, you have a short drive to the airport and a straight shot through South End into Uptown. Fitness center, pool, hot tub.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
* &lt;sleep name=&quot;Red Roof Inn&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;3300 Queen City Dr&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 704 392-2316&quot; tollfree=&quot;&quot; email=&quot;&quot; fax=&quot;&quot; url=&quot;&quot; checkin=&quot;&quot; checkout=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;$55&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Nothing fancy, but cheaper than most hotels in the area. This is an economy chain, so the rooms are sparse but clean. Immediate access to the airport and surrounding amenities.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
* &lt;sleep name=&quot;Renaissance Suites&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;2800 Coliseum Centre Dr&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 704 357-1414&quot; tollfree=&quot;&quot; email=&quot;&quot; fax=&quot;&quot; url=&quot;http://www.renaissancecharlotte.com&quot; checkin=&quot;&quot; checkout=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;In the past, this hotel was situated ideally for sports and other events.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
*&lt;sleep name=&quot;Wingate South Atlantic&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;4238 Business Center Dr&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 704 395-3600&quot; tollfree=&quot;+1 800 228-1000&quot; url=&quot;http://www.wingatesouthatlantic.com/&quot; checkin=&quot;&quot; checkout=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;$90&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Whether you’re traveling to the South Atlantic for business or pleasure, rest easy knowing there’s a Wingate by Wyndham Hotel conveniently located and well-equipped to accommodate your every need.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
===Carowinds===<br />
<br />
* &lt;sleep name=&quot;MainStay Suites Extended Stay Hotel&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;7926 Forest Pine Dr&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 704 521-3232&quot; tollfree=&quot;&quot; email=&quot;&quot; fax=&quot;&quot; url=&quot;http://www.mainstaysuites.com/hotel-charlotte-north_carolina-NC368&quot; checkin=&quot;&quot; checkout=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Pet-friendly, cater towards people traveling for business, or for people just taking extended vacations.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
==Contact==<br />
<br />
The city of Charlotte has '''mandatory 10-digit dialing''', so you must include the area code even on local calls. Charlotte has two area codes: 704 and 980. <br />
<br />
There are some public pay phones scattered around the city, but they are becoming increasingly rare with the predominance of cell phones. It is not safe to assume you will be able to find a pay phone at any given time.<br />
<br />
All ZIP codes in the city of Charlotte begin with 282. The central district's code is 28202.<br />
<br />
==Stay safe==<br />
<br />
Though the crime rate is not astronomical, Charlotte is still a city -- don't let your guard all the way down. If you are uptown, the biggest worry is auto theft/break-in, which is hardly rampant. Violent crime is relatively rare in the central district, as well as the affluent southern side of town. The most dangerous areas are the west and east sides. <br />
<br />
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police (CMPD) almost always maintain a visible presence in crowded areas. If you have trouble, look for an officer. Note that in certain parts of the city the police are deployed on bikes as well as cars.<br />
<br />
==Stay healthy==<br />
<br />
===Breathing===<br />
<br />
Charlotte is not a good allergy city, due to the abundance of flowering trees and greenspace.<br />
<br />
Smog has become an increasing concern in recent years, as the city becomes more populated and in turn hosts more auto traffic. Local authorities monitor ozone levels and make public announcements[http://http://daq.state.nc.us/Ozone/]when &quot;vulnerable&quot; groups (children, the elderly, etc.) are at risk. These announcements are carried on local television, radio, and newspapers.<br />
<br />
===Smoking===<br />
<br />
North Carolina is known as &quot;Tobacco Road&quot;, and cigarettes are almost ubiquitous in Charlotte. However, due to changing attitudes about smoking, North Carolina passed a law that went into effect in January 2010 banning smoking in all bars and restaurants in the state. It is still legal to smoke on the street, though you may want to be considerate of others if you are in a crowded area. Smoking is also permitted at most nightclubs provided they do not serve food. At concert venues (such as Bobcats Arena) there are outdoor decks for smokers. <br />
<br />
In general, it is a good idea to be polite about smoking... whether you smoke or not. If you smoke, try to do it in an area in which others won't be bothered by it. If you are a non-smoker, be aware in advance of whether you will likely be bothered by smoke in a particular place. In North Carolina people tend to be much less sensitive to smoking than in other parts of the country, so you will likely be received with a bit of bewilderment if you make a scene about it.<br />
<br />
==Cope==<br />
<br />
===Libraries=== <br />
<br />
Library branches are scattered across the city, and vary in size and function. Typically there are street signs nearby to direct you toward the nearest branch. Also, there are substantial libraries at each of the local universities.<br />
<br />
===Newspapers===<br />
<br />
* '''Charlotte Observer''' [http://www.charlotte.com]. The Observer is the city's primary newspaper and its only daily periodical. It is standard for a newspaper in a medium-sized city. Politically it is often perceived as left-of-center, though the slant is not very strong and unlikely to be perceived by visitors. The Observer is widely available in stores and boxes, $0.50 ($1.50 Sunday). <br />
<br />
* '''Creative Loafing''' [http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com]. Weekly &quot;alternative&quot; newspaper distributed for free at most stores and restaurants. CL has the city's best weekly entertainment and restaurant index, and is widely used by both locals and visitors as a handbook to city nightlife. Free.<br />
<br />
* '''Charlotte Weekly''' [http://www.thecharlotteweekly.com]. Probably the most politically-neutral of the weeklies. The Weekly enjoys wide distribution, but seems to prefer a relatively low-key role in local reporting. <br />
<br />
* '''Charlotte Business Journal''' [http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/]. Weekly edition devoted to reviewing the city's business climate. Its thorough reporting often &quot;scoops&quot; other sources, and the CBJ can make surprisingly interesting reading even for those uninterested in business affairs. Available primarily at bookstores and other newsstands, though boxes can be found on the street Uptown. <br />
<br />
* '''QNotes''' [http://www.http://goqnotes.com/]. The LGBT arts, entertainment and news publication based in Charlotte, N.C. <br />
<br />
* '''La Noticia''' [http://www.lanoticia.com]. Spanish-language weekly newspaper. This has become the primary voice of the Hispanic community in Charlotte. As of now it has no English-language edition, so its circulation is relatively confined to eastern Charlotte. Free.<br />
<br />
* '''Charlotte Post''' [http://www.thecharlottepost.com]. African-American weekly that enjoys a devoted following but a relatively low circulation. Found mostly at institutions with a high percentage of black consumers, such as restaurants and churches on the west side. Free.<br />
<br />
* '''Mecklenburg Times''' [http://www.mecktimes.com]. Focuses on the workings of County government, especially politics and business issues. In-depth review of court decisions and related issues. <br />
<br />
* '''Street &amp; Smith's Sports Business Journal''' [http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com]. Narrow, detailed coverage of the sports-business industry. Available primarily through newsstands and Uptown boxes. Weekly editions. <br />
<br />
* '''NASCAR Scene Daily''' [http://www.scenedaily.com]. Part of Street &amp; Smith's, but focuses only on NASCAR-related news. A weekly newspaper, despite its title.<br />
<br />
===International visitors===<br />
<br />
Compared to large tourist destinations, Charlotte has a relatively small international population. Locals are usually quite friendly toward foreign visitors, especially those who are able to speak English. Speakers of other languages may find the language barrier more difficult to break than in &quot;international&quot; cities (though Spanish-speakers will likely have an easier time). It is recommended that international visitors keep their passport handy at all times. <br />
<br />
Charlotte's sister cities are [[Arequipa]] (Peru), [[Krefeld]] (Germany), [[Baoding]] (China), [[Voronezh]] (Russia), [[Limoges]] (France), [[Wroclaw]] (Poland), and [[Kumasi]] (Ghana). <br />
<br />
* '''International House''', 322 Hawthorne Ln, ''+1'' 704-333-8099, [http://www.ihclt.org]. International visitors to Charlotte are strongly encouraged to begin their visit at the International House. Though it is worth the trip south of Uptown to visit the historic neoclassical mansion and meet the friendly staff, the IH can also be very helpful in finding interpreters, translated documents, travel information, etc. <br />
<br />
* '''Immigration and Naturalization Service''', 210 E Woodlawn Rd (Ste 138, Bldg 6), [http://www.ins.gov]. M-F 7:30AM-2PM.<br />
<br />
* '''Armenian Cultural Association of the Carolinas''', ''+1 704'' 334-5353 x239.<br />
<br />
* '''Bosnian Organization''', ''+1 704'' 921-9080.<br />
<br />
* '''Cambodian Community Association''', ''+1 704'' 566-0155.<br />
<br />
* '''Chinese American Association''', ''+1 704'' 593-0897.<br />
<br />
* '''Eritrean Community Organization''', ''+1 704'' 563-9000.<br />
<br />
* '''Ethiopian Community''', ''+1 704'' 343-6629.<br />
<br />
* '''Filipino-American Community''', ''+1 704'' 541-5944.<br />
<br />
* '''Ghana National Association''', ''+1 704'' 567-2510.<br />
<br />
* '''Haitian American Club of the Carolinas''', ''+1 704'' 537-1785.<br />
<br />
* '''India Association of Charlotte''', ''+1 704'' 948-7664.<br />
<br />
* '''Iranian Group''', ''+1'' 704-321-3578.<br />
<br />
* '''Islamic Society of Greater Charlotte''', ''+1 704'' 568-0907.<br />
<br />
* '''Japan-America Society of Charlotte''', ''+1 704'' 687-2727.<br />
<br />
* '''Korean Association of Charlotte''', ''+1 704'' 376-8820.<br />
<br />
* '''Laotian Cultural Center''', 2208 Rowan Way, ''+1 704'' 393-3588.<br />
<br />
* '''Laos American Association of North Carolina''', ''+1 704'' 393-7363.<br />
<br />
* '''Metrolina Phoenician Club''', ''+1 704'' 846-2269.<br />
<br />
* '''Taiwanese-American Association of Greater Charlotte''', ''+1 704'' 847-6340. <br />
<br />
* '''Vietnamese Community Association of Charlotte''', ''+1 704'' 568-8744.<br />
<br />
===Consulates===<br />
* [[Image:gm-flag.png|20px]] &lt;listing name=&quot;Germany (Honorary)&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;536 Viking Dr&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 757 486-9167&quot; email=&quot;peter.mueller@stihl.us&quot; fax=&quot;+1 757 486-9141&quot; url=&quot;http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/04__Legal/01__Consulate__Finder/HC/02__ABC/Mueller.html&quot; hours=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;&lt;/listing&gt;<br />
<br />
* [[Image:mx-flag.png|20px]] &lt;listing name=&quot;Mexico (Honorary)&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;4424 Taggart Creek Rd&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 704 394-2190&quot; email=&quot;&quot; fax=&quot;&quot; url=&quot;&quot; hours=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;&lt;/listing&gt;<br />
<br />
* [[Image:uk-flag.png|20px]] &lt;listing name=&quot;United Kingdom (Honorary)&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;301 S College St 9F&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 704 383-3944&quot; email=&quot;&quot; fax=&quot;&quot; url=&quot;http://www.britainusa.com/nc/&quot; hours=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;&lt;/listing&gt;<br />
<br />
===Worship===<br />
<br />
Like most cities in the American South, Charlotte's communities have historically been centered around Protestant Christian churches (though this is changing as the city diversifies and urbanizes). A complete list of worship sites is impractical; '''below are listings which don't fit into a (as of yet) specified district''' so be sure to check out the district articles. <br />
<br />
There are many foreign-language places of worship in the Charlotte area. For information about them, contact the International House [http://www.ihclt.org] at ''+1 704'' 333-8099.<br />
<br />
* '''Hindu Center of Charlotte''',7400 City View Drive, ''+1 704'' 535-3440. A Hindu temple performing Hindu rituals and practices since 1982. <br />
<br />
* '''Wat Lao Buddharam''', 1824 Toddville Rd, ''+1 704'' 597-5037. Laotian community of Buddhists in a relatively large temple grounds. Services are in Laotian. <br />
<br />
* '''Ash-shaheed Islamic Center''', 2717 Tuckaseegee Rd, ''+1 704'' 394-6579. Primarily an African-American Islamic community, located on the city's west side. <br />
<br />
* '''Masjid Ali Shah Center''' , 1230 Beatties Ford Rd, ''+1 704'' 377-9010, [http://www.pluralism.org/research/profiles/display.php?profile=72506]. Smaller community in western Charlotte.<br />
<br />
==Get out==<br />
<br />
Charlotte benefits from a highly centralized location in the Carolinas, giving visitors the option of driving to either the beach or the mountains if they choose. Cities within day-trip range include [[Asheville]], [[Greensboro]], [[Winston-Salem]], and the [[Raleigh]]/[[Durham (North Carolina)|Durham]] area. If you are interested in seeing smaller Southern towns, consider a short drive to [[Matthews]], [[Davidson]], or [[Huntersville]]; all are within 15 minutes' drive on the interstate. <br />
<br />
* '''Concord Mills''' - see Malls. <br />
<br />
* '''Lowe's Motor Speedway''', [http://www.lowesmotorspeedway.com]. Located just out of northern Charlotte in nearby [[Concord (North Carolina)|Concord]], off I-85. Home of near-constant racing events including NASCAR's All-Star race and the Coca-Cola 600. Occasional home of concerts and other special events. Among other special attractions, includes the opportunity to drive around the track or attend racing school. <br />
<br />
* '''Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden''' [http://www.dsbg.org]. In [[Belmont (North Carolina)|Belmont]] (just west of Charlotte), this is one of the most acclaimed attractions in the area. The natural beauty and serenity of the gardens make it a favorite for romantic day trips and family outings. Guided tours offered. <br />
<br />
* ''' North Carolina Zoo''' [http://www.nczoo.org]. Located in [[Asheboro]], about 60 miles northeast of Charlotte. The largest zoo in North Carolina, featuring over 200 species of animal and many more botanical species. Highlights include gorillas, elephants, lions and an aviary. <br />
<br />
* '''Reed Gold Mine''' [http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/reed/reed.htm]. Pan for gold in the USA's first gold mine. Very kid-friendly and educational, besides being pretty fun. Located in Cabarrus County, about 45 minutes from Charlotte. <br />
<br />
* '''Schiele Museum of Natural History''' [http://www.schielemuseum.org]. A surprisingly high-quality museum in Gastonia, just west of Charlotte. Includes a planetarium, an aviary, and many special events and exhibits.<br />
<br />
* Southwest of Charlotte are the [[Catawba lands]]. See how this Native American tribe used to live and lives today.<br />
<br />
* South of Charlotte along Route 16, in [[Waxhaw]], is the '''Mexico Museum'''. Items of cultural and historical interest include pottery, costumes, and photographs. <br />
<br />
* '''Carowinds''' [http://www.carowinds.com]. Large theme park with a focus on movies. Many roller coasters and other such attractions; coasters include Top Gun, The Hurler, and the beloved Thunder Road. Give strong consideration to eating beforehand, as concession prices are very high. Go south on I-77 and get off at the state line. Bring sunscreen as most of the park is unshaded. <br />
<br />
* Take I-85S to US-321N to [[Hickory]] for excellent furniture shopping at a host of furniture outlets. Two such are Hickory Furniture Mart [http://www.hickoryfurniture.com] (huge) and the Hickory Furniture Mall [http://www.catawbafurniture.com] (quieter and less expensive).<br />
<br />
* '''Chimney Rock Park''' [http://www.chimneyrockpark.com]. Part of the highly scenic Blue Ridge Mountains in the Appalachian chain. One of the region's most visited parks, primarily because of its unusual rock formations and waterfalls. <br />
<br />
* '''Nantahala Outdoor Center''' [http://www.noc.com]. About 3-4 hours west of Charlotte in the heart of the Appalachians. Excellent whitewater rafting and tubing for all experience levels; the river runs particularly well after big rains. Charlotte's own rafting center (the U.S. National Whitewater Center) is currently under construction, but will struggle to match the natural splendor of the Nantahala. Also an excellent place to hike, bike, bird watch, etc. <br />
<br />
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[[nl:Charlotte]]</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Nigeria&diff=1944527Nigeria2012-10-20T18:25:27Z<p>AHeneen: /* By plane */ remove notice...Arik Air resumed operations a couple days later</p>
<hr />
<div>{{quickbar<br />
| image=[[Image:Nigeria.jpg|noframe|250px]]<br />
| location=[[Image:LocationNigeria.png|noframe|250px]]<br />
| flag=[[Image:ni-flag.png]]<br />
| capital=[[Abuja]]<br />
| government=Federal Republic<br />
| currency=Naira ₦ (NGN)<br />
| area=''total:'' 923,768 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;br /&gt;''water:'' 13,000 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;br /&gt;''land:'' 910,768 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;<br />
| population=154,729,000 ( 2009 est.)<br />
| language=English (official), [[Hausa]], [[Igbo phrasebook|Igbo]], Yoruba, Fulani<br />
| religion=Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%<br />
| electricity=240V/50Hz (UK plug)<br />
| callingcode=+234<br />
| tld=.ng<br />
| timezone=UTC+1<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Nigeria''' [http://www.nigeria.gov.ng/] ([[Hausa phrasebook|Hausa]]: ''Nijeriya'', [[Igbo phrasebook|Igbo]]: ''Naíjíríà'', [[Yoruba phrasebook|Yoruba]]: ''Nàìjíríà'') is a country in equatorial [[West Africa]]. It is the continent's most populous nation. It has a southern coastline on the Gulf of Guinea, and has [[Benin]] to the west, [[Cameroon]] to the southeast, [[Chad]] to the northeast, and [[Niger]] to the north. It is the largest oil producer and third largest economy in Africa.<br />
<br />
==Understand==<br />
<br />
One of the official languages in Nigeria is English. However, while this may sound reassuring, only upper-class people in the largest cities actually speak it. The national ''lingua franca'' is Nigerian pidgin, an English-based creole language spoken by 75 million people as a second language and by 3-5 million people as a native language, mostly in the Niger Delta. Nigerian pidgin is intelligible to an English-speaker to a certain degree, but it will take time to get accustomed to it. The easiest way to overcome any initial language block is to ask questions. They will not hesisate to ask you to clarify what you mean, or admit that they do not understand an outsider's particular manner of phrasing. Do not assume that a Nigerian's inability to answer you indicates ignorance.<br />
<br />
===History===<br />
<br />
====The pre-colonial era====<br />
In the northern part of the country, Kano and Katsina have recorded history which dates back to around 999. <br />
<br />
The kingdoms of Ifẹ and Oyo in the western block of Nigeria became prominent about 700–900 and 1400 respectively. The Yoruba mythology believes that Ile-Ife is the source of the human race and that it predates any other civilization. Another prominent kingdom in south western Nigeria was the Kingdom of Benin whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th century. Their dominance reached as far as the well known city of Eko, later named Lagos by the Portuguese.<br />
<br />
In southeastern Nigeria the Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people flourished from the controversial date of around the 10th century until 1911 and the city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture.<br />
<br />
In addition, Tiv culture in the North central region of Nigeria dates to 6 B.C.. Some of the famous bronze terracota sculpture heads from this culture have been shown around the world.<br />
<br />
====Colonial era====<br />
<br />
Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to begin trade in Nigeria, and called the main port Lagos after the Portuguese town of Lagos, in Algarve. This name stuck on with more European trade with the region. The Europeans traded with the ethnicities of the coast and also established a trade in slaves which affected many Nigerian ethnicities. Following the Napoleonic Wars, the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior.<br />
<br />
In 1885 British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition and in the following year the Royal Niger Company was chartered. In 1900 the company's territory came under the control of the British government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On January 1, 1901 Nigeria became a British protectorate (northern and southern protectorates) and part of the British Empire. In 1914 the northern protecorate and the southern protectorate under the colonial rule were merged forming one single entity named &quot;Nigeria&quot; (meaning: Niger[river niger] area. The name &quot;nigeria&quot; was given by the wife of the British Governor-General in charge of the country - Sir Lord Lugard.<br />
<br />
Following World War II, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis. By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across Africa.<br />
<br />
====Post-independence====<br />
On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from the United Kingdom. As was the habit of colonialists during that era, no attention was paid to the fact that the &quot;protectorates&quot; suddenly and quite chaotically merged together hundreds of distinct and autonomous ethnicities, or to the fact that some communities were ripped apart by the sudden construction of boundaries that never existed before. There was never a truly developed sense of singular Nigerian identity. In part, it was this disequilibrium which set the stage in 1966 to several successive military coups. <br />
The Northern coup, which was mostly motivated by ethnic and religious reasons, was a bloodbath of both military officers and civilians, especially those of Igbo extraction. The violence against the Igbo increased their desire for autonomy and protection from the military's wrath. By May 1967, the Eastern Region had declared itself an independent state called the Republic of Biafra and the 30 month Nigerian Civil War began. More than one million people died, many of them starving to death.<br />
<br />
During the oil boom of the 1970s, Nigeria joined OPEC and billions of dollars generated by production in the oil-rich Niger Delta flowed into the coffers of the Nigerian state. However, increasing corruption and graft at all levels of government squandered most of these earnings. Nigeria re-achieved democracy in 1999 and although the elections which brought Obasanjo to power in 1999 and again in 2003 were condemned as unfree and unfair, Nigeria has shown marked improvements in attempts to tackle government corruption and to hasten development. Ethnic violence over the oil producing Niger Delta region and inadequate infrastructures are some of the current issues in the country.<br />
<br />
===Climate===<br />
Varies; equatorial in the south, tropical in the center, arid in the north. Natural hazards include periodic droughts and flooding. Tornadoes and hurricanes are rare because they typically are weak at this stage and travel west of the Atlantic.<br />
<br />
===Terrain===<br />
Southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in the southeast, plains in the north. The Niger river enters the country in the northwest and flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of Guinea. The highest point is Chappal Waddi at 2,419 m.<br />
<br />
==Regions==<br />
[[Image:Nigeria Regions map.png|thumb|right|500px|Map of Nigeria with regions colour-coded]]<br />
<br />
{{Regionlist<br />
<br />
| region1name=[[Southwest Nigeria]] <br />
| region1color=#70993c<br />
| region1items=<br />
| region1description=land of the Yoruba and Edo as well as minorities, the major city of [[Lagos]]<br />
<br />
| region2name=[[Southeast Nigeria]]<br />
| region2color=#8cb3ad<br />
| region2items=<br />
| region2description=land of the Igbo people, the Ibibio and Ijaw, as well as minorities and centre of the huge oil industry<br />
<br />
| region3name=[[Central Nigeria]] <br />
| region3color=#67be73<br />
| region3items=<br />
| region3description=transitional zone between the southern forests and northern savanna<br />
<br />
| region4name=[[Eastern Nigeria]] <br />
| region4color=#7CD1A0<br />
| region4items= <br />
| region4description=a rural region with several nature reserves and highlands along the border with [[Cameroon]]<br />
<br />
| region5name=[[Northern Nigeria]] <br />
| region5color=#bcd7a8<br />
| region5items=<br />
| region5description=land of the Hausa and Fulani, almost exclusively Islamic with Sharia Law imposed <br />
<br />
| region6name=[[Northeastern Nigeria]] <br />
| region6color=#608860<br />
| region6items=<br />
| region6description=dominated by the Kanuri people<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Cities== <br />
* [[Abuja]] &amp;mdash; Capital. Although built from scratch, it has beautiful rolling terrain with modern Nigerian architecture.<br />
* [[Benin City]] &amp;mdash; city of the Edo people<br />
* [[Calabar]] &amp;mdash; oil region, World's highest concentration of butterflies is situated in the surrounding regions of the city<br />
* [[Ibadan]] &amp;mdash; geographically the largest city in [[Africa]]<br />
* [[Jos]] <br />
* [[Kano]] &amp;mdash; important Hausa City, commercial hub of the north<br />
* [[Lagos]] &amp;mdash; second most populous city in [[Africa]], former colonial capital and huge commercial hub<br />
* [[Osogbo]] &amp;mdash; home of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Sacred Grove of Osun<br />
* [[Owerri]] &amp;mdash; a quiet city in the Igbo speaking region.<br />
* [[Port Harcourt]] &amp;mdash; port city in the oil region<br />
* [[Warri]] &amp;mdash; home of the deltans<br />
* [[Enugu]] &amp;mdash; The coal city (ancient coal town, very cool and tourist friendly)<br />
<br />
==Other destinations==<br />
* [[Kainji National Park]]<br />
* [[Yankari National Park]]<br />
<br />
==Get in==<br />
[[Image:Lagos International Airport.jpg|thumb|300px|Rainy day at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos]]<br />
<br />
===Entry requirements===<br />
<br />
Foreign nationals who are not citizens of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) need to apply for a visa to enter Nigeria. This can be obtained at Nigerian embassies, high commissions and consulates worldwide.<br />
<br />
If you require a visa to enter Nigeria, you might be able to apply for one at a British embassy, high commission or consulate in the country where you legally reside if there is no Nigerian diplomatic post. For example, the British embassies in Pristina[http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/kosovo/commonwealth-bots/?langname=null] and Sofia[http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/bulgaria/commonwealth-bots/?langname=null] accept Nigerian visa applications (this list is '''not''' exhaustive). British diplomatic posts charge £50 to process a Nigerian visa application and an extra £70 if the authorities in Nigeria require the visa application to be referred to them. The authorities in Nigeria can also decide to charge an additional fee if they correspond with you directly.<br />
<br />
===By plane===<br />
<br />
*International airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt. <br />
<br />
Arik and Bellview Airlines make local and international flights (to other African countries and [[London]]), Virgin Nigeria and Aero to other African countries.<br />
<br />
Virgin Nigeria has ceased operations to the United Kingdom and South Africa. Arik Air now plies these routes quite successfully.<br />
<br />
*Several European airlines fly to Nigeria: British Airways (London Heathrow - Abuja, Lagos), Virgin Atlantic (London Heathrow - Lagos), KLM ([[Amsterdam]] - Abuja, Lagos, Kano), Air France ([[Paris]]-Charles de Gaulle - Lagos), Alitalia ([[Rome]]- Fiumicino - Accra, Lagos), Turkish Airline ([[Istanbul]] - Lagos), Lufthansa ([[Frankfurt]] - Abuja, Lagos), Iberia Airlines ([[Madrid]] - Lagos)<br />
<br />
* US Based Delta Airlines operates 5 x per week non-stop service from Atlanta to Lagos using a Boeing 777-200 aircraft since 1 July 2009.<br />
<br />
* Continental Airlines is planning on starting service from Houston Bush-Intercontinental in 2011 on a 787. United Airlines is planning service from Washington, DC to Lagos non-stop as well. (Note: United has already commenced non-stop service from Washington, DC to Accra, Ghana on 20 June 2010.)<br />
<br />
On 6/09/2009, Delta started direct service from New York to Abuja three times (Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday) a week using their narrow, single-aisle Boeing 757-200. This flight stopped in Dakar. However, on 2 June 2010 Delta replaced this service with NON-STOP service from New York to Abuja three times per week on a wide-body Boeing 767-300.<br />
<br />
*Other inter-continental airlines fly to Lagos. They include: China Southern Airlines ([[Beijing]], [[Dubai]]), Emirates (Dubai), Middle East Airlines ([[Beirut]]), Qatar Airways ([[Doha]]), Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi).<br />
<br />
*There are African companies: South African Airlines from Johannesburg, Egypt Air from [[Cairo]], Ethiopian Airlines from [[Addis Abbeba]], Kenya Airways from [[Nairobi]], Afriqya Airways from [[Tripoli]], Hewa Bora from [[Kinshasa]].<br />
<br />
*Besides these, there are other airlines (in addition to VNA and Bellview) that operate domestic and regional flights to places like [[Abidjan]], [[Accra]], [[Banjul]], [[Conakry]], [[Dakar]], [[Douala]], [[Freetown]], [[Johannesburg]], [[Libreville]], [[Monrovia]]. <br />
<br />
*Currently, The Port Harcourt International Airport is fully operational again after being closed for about 2 years for rehabilitation works.<br />
*There are also airports in most states of the federation and local air travel is widespread.<br />
<br />
===By train===<br />
*Most of the trains in Nigeria are for transporting cargo.<br />
*The former president, Yar'adua, however, said that he planned to invest and aggressively pursue a nationwide train network which should be ready by 2011.<br />
* At the moment it is not advisable to travel on train especially if you are a foreign national.<br />
<br />
===By bus===<br />
Getting around is relatively easy, except that there could be delays due to traffic jams within most major cities. There are multitudes of coaches and buses that will take you to any part of Nigeria you wish (ABC Transport Services is well known for its services among others). Lagos state government also operates a transit system (BRT buses) which serves the Lagos metropolis.<br />
<br />
===By boat===<br />
Transport by boat isn't widespread unless you venture into the riverine areas of Nigeria.<br />
<br />
==Get around==<br />
It would be best to travel around in your own car or a hired one (with a driver) but there are various other modes of transport. The road systems in Nigeria are relatively poor compared with North American and European countries, but often still passable. The &quot;okada&quot; (motorcycle) is not for the faint-hearted (there used to be no helmets but as a law the rider is required to have two helmets for himself and a passenger) and should only be used for short distance journeys. &quot;Okadas&quot; will get you to where you want to go quickly and you will get there in one piece. In Lagos, there are lots of buses and taxis. There are two main types of buses, the molue and the danfo. Most smaller cities have more taxis than buses, and they are quite affordable. <br />
<br />
For travelling from one city to another, you go to the &quot;motor park&quot;, find the taxi that's going to your destination, and wait until it &quot;fills up&quot;. The price is fixed, you don't have to negotiate. Some drivers may have a risky driving style however - practically this means that the only rule consistently adhered to (by cars, not necessarily motorcycles), is keeping on the right.<br />
<br />
===By car===<br />
Driving in Nigeria (especially Lagos) is somewhat unique, vaguely resembling driving in Cairo. If mastered, you should however be able to cope in most other countries on the planet. Or any other planet.<br />
<br />
Roads are bad. Expect potholes of every size. Expect people to drive on the wrong side to avoid potholes or just bad patches of road. Even on the highway. Expect the road to be gone. Expect everything.<br />
<br />
Grass or branches on the road means there is a broken down vehicule ahead of you, be careful.<br />
<br />
If you are white,get used to Nigerians shouting at you as you pass by. It will be something like &quot;Oyibo&quot;, &quot;MBakara&quot;, &quot;Bature&quot; or &quot;white man&quot; if you're white. It all means the same, they are just telling you. <br />
<br />
Self-driving for short-term visitors unfamiliar with the roads, especially in Lagos, is by no means advisable and could actually be quite foolish if not dangerous. With crime on the rise, you could easily wander into an area or a road block set by local gangs. If you choose to rent a car, it will come with a driver familiar with the area and style of driving, which is a much easier and safer option.<br />
<br />
If you as a foreigner wish to drive yourself, it is advisable to stick to the rules, as you will be an easy target for poorly paid police officers looking for somebody to &quot;fine&quot; (payable directly to the officer in cash without a ticket or receipt) for the most petty reasons like not indicating your intention of wanting to drive straight. Should you be pulled over, do not give your license, as you will then lose all bargaining power when negotiating the fine, which could easily be a maximum of all the visible cash you have on you at the time. Rather carry a copy of the license and hand that over, or show your license through your window. Also do not let the police get into your car. They are not really dangerous, but it could get expensive and certainly annoying.<br />
However, if you just don't pay and never get angry, it only costs time. They have no real power over you.<br />
<br />
Especially over weekends and festive times, it is common practice for police, especially in the richer areas of Lagos, to flag you down and wish you happy weekend/holiday/christmas/easter/sunny weather/trip to work. In this case, you did nothing wrong and they do not intend to &quot;fine&quot; you, but are rather begging for some small money for them. If you insistently yet politely refuse to give something, they will eventually let you go. Just wish them a nice weekend/holiday/etc. too.<br />
<br />
If you work for a big company in Nigeria, you will usually have a company driver to drive you around, thereby avoiding the abovementioned problems to a large extent. He can arrange a local driver's license for you should the need arise without a driving test or proof of foreign license.<br />
<br />
Nigeria is not part of the most standard international Road Traffic Convention and as such will require a special International Driving Permit (valid only for driving in Nigeria, Somalia and Iraq) (if you do not want to get the Nigerian license), not the normal one applicable to almost all other countries in the world.<br />
<br />
Lots of street sellers surround the car when you get to crossroads in crowded areas. You should not have a problem if you keep the windows and doors locked however. <br />
<br />
The last Saturday of the month is Sanitation Day in Lagos, when the locals clean their premises. While it is not illegal to be out on the street between 7:00AM-10:00AM, due to the higher than usual presence of police officers and road check points, most Nigerians choose to restrict their movements until after 10:00AM. Should you be caught at this time, you may be taken away by the police to perform some &quot;public sanitation&quot; duty, like mowing lawns, etc.<br />
<br />
===By plane===<br />
Arik, Virgin Nigeria and Aero Contractors have good scheduled domestic connections with modern aircraft to most significant destinations at reasonable prices. There websites are very user friendly and well updated.<br />
<br />
Note that in Lagos, the two domestic terminals, while next to each other, are about 4-5 km (of road which would not be wise to walk if you don't know the place) from the international terminal, and you would therefore need a taxi to get from the one to the other, should you wish to transfer from an international flight to a domestic one.<br />
<br />
==See==<br />
*Lagos: Bar Beach, Badagary Beach, Tarkwa bay Beach<br />
*Lekki (suburb of Lagos): Lekki Forest Reserve - nice little fenced-off and interesting patch of tropical rainforest with wooden walkways located on the outskirts of the city (ask a taxi to take you to &quot;across from Chevron Oil Company (who financed much of the refurbishment of the forest to look greener) on the Lekki Express Way, just before the second toll gate&quot;, as locals tend not to know about the existence of the place, so taxi will probably look at you with a &quot;huh&quot; expression even though he may drive past it daily), Lekki Beach, Eleko Beach<br />
*Jos: [http://www.ecotourhills.com Hiking and tourism on the Plateau]<br />
*Enugu:Hiking and traditional events e.g New yam and atiliogwu dancers<br />
*Calabar: Harbour and slave monuments in Calabar and Tinapa (the Nollywood studios) a little drive outside the city.<br />
*Obudu: Small town a few hours to the north from Calabar very close to the Cameroon border - rent a car from Calabar airport (comes with driver) and ask the driver to take you there via Tinapa. This is a cool mountain escape with a nice resort (Obudu Mountain Resort) on the mountain (the president also has a week-end home there). They have some forest walks, hiking, one of the longest cable cars in the world (Austrian built) and very nice pristine swimming pools with fountains available.<br />
<br />
==Talk==<br />
; '''Languages''' : English (official), [[Hausa phrasebook|Hausa]], [[Yoruba phrasebook|Yoruba]], [[Igbo phrasebook|Igbo]], [[Fulani phrasebook|Fulani]], [[Efik phrasebook|Efik]], [[Ejagham phrasebook|Ejagham]], [[Urhobo phrasebook|Urhobo]] and Edo.<br />
<br />
==Buy==<br />
Nigeria's currency is the '''Naira'''. Around April 2012 the rate is about $1:N157.<br />
<br />
It is advised to cash all your naira back into another currency at the airport before you leave Nigeria. The rate is irrelevant, as the naira is not worth that much outside Nigeria. Naira bills/coins may be of interest to currency collectors, but other than that, they will be nothing more than colorful souvenirs of your trip. Banks will change foreign currency to Naira, BUT USUALLY NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND, EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE A FOREIGNER. You would therefore need to use the Bureaus de Change at the International terminal or the new Domestic terminal or street vendors to get foreign currency should you end up with unused Nairas at the end of your trip. A safe place to change in Victoria Island is in the tourist market of Eco Hotel in Victoria Island (not the hotel reception which will give you rip-off rates). <br />
If the Bureaus de Change at the airport do not want to help or are closed, the car park outside the International terminal is full of street vendors only to willing to change money from/into any major currency. When dealing with these street vendors, keep the money you are dealing with fully visible till the deal is finished (i.e. don't put into handbag and later discover it is wrong and then try and bargain) and count carefully with them, as they tend to try and short-change you with a note or two, especially when you change foreign currency into Naira (which is a thick bundle of small notes), but with necessary vigilance are generally fine. Street vendors are also plentiful at the main land borders to change Naira into CFAs (XOF (Benin and Niger side) or XAF (Cameroon side)) if need be. XOF and XAF are freely and easily convertible to and from Euros at a rate of 655.957 (sometimes with a small commission) when you are in the French countries.<br />
<br />
Changing large bills of US Dollars or Euros will give a better rate with professional money changers, such as on the currency exchange market near Lagos Domestic Airport. This is a walled enclosure with a large number of money changers, which is primarily used by local nationals.<br />
<br />
If you have a VISA card, you can withdraw money from Standard Chartered Bank ATM Machine's in Lagos - Aromire St., off Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja &amp; Ajose Adeogun St. in Victoria Island Branch, Abuja and Port Harcourt (in Naira) and ATM Machines of some other banks with &quot;Visa&quot; stickers on them, like GT Bank, UBA, Zenith, etc. This will save you a lot of stress carrying large sums of money and it is secured.<br />
<br />
On Abuja and Lagos International Airport money can be withdrawn from ATM machine's. On Lagos International there are several ATM's, several may not function at all times. On Lagos Domestic Terminal there is also a functioning ATM in the domestic terminal on the 1th floor. Usually this a quiet ATM which also is very private and secure.<br />
<br />
MasterCard / Maestro users can also withdraw Money from ATMs at several branches of Zenith Bank and GT Bank. Some ATM machines of Ecobank, First Bank and Intercontinental Bank also allow for MasterCard / Maestro cards. Look for the red ATM sign outside, or ask the on-site security officer at any branch. Also look for Ecobank, they have a branch within the premises of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Visa is however a safer option if you are visiting the French countries around Nigeria as well, as Mastercard/Maestro is close to useless in these countries.<br />
<br />
Also note that Nigeria is currently on an active drive to become a cash-less society, and as such, more and and more hotels, restaurant and shops (all the bigger ones at least) accept major credit cards (VISA being the preferred one - but ask first, there is both &quot;local VISA&quot; and &quot;international VISA&quot; - and MasterCard). Diners Club and Amex are almost universally useless in Nigeria. When paying by card, take the usual precautions (watch how they swipe, don't let the card out of your sight, etc.)<br />
<br />
It is advisable that you know where to buy things in advance of your going out. This can save you unnecessary exposure to touts. Nigerian Yellow Pages [http://www.NigerianYellowPages.com] provides list of businesses, contact addresses and phone numbers and for shops and restaurants, your hotel can give you advise as well. When meeting businesses, the best thing to do is to locate the business, call their representative, who can give you detailed information on how to locate them.<br />
<br />
===Bargaining===<br />
At markets, you are supposed to haggle for your goods (a notable exception is bread: its price is fixed). As a general rule, the real price is about half the price that was first asked. The seller may exaggerate the price when he or she thinks that you are a rich tourist ignorant of the real price. After agreeing on a price, don't walk away without buying, this is considered very rude.<br />
<br />
Shops like supermarket and restaurants will typically charge fixed prices. Fresh products and Western-style sit-in restaurants are quite expensive, with it not being uncommon to pay $75 for a dinner per person.<br />
<br />
==Eat==<br />
There are many types of traditional cuisine to enjoy. For example: afang soup, okra soup, owo soup and starch in the Niger Delta, plantain (fried, boiled, roasted), pepper soup, amala, eba, efo, pounded yam (iyan - Yoruba for &quot;pounded yam&quot; pronounce &quot; ee-yarn&quot; ), jollof rice, ground nut soup, ogbono soup, isi ewu (goat's head stew), egusi soup, suya (kebab), moin moin, ewedu, gbegiri soup (beans soup), edikangikong, ground-rice, puff-puff, chin chin, ikokore, owerri soup (ofe owerri), which is the most expensive African soup in Nigeria. Not to forget 404 pepper soup - it will make you act like &quot;Oliver Twist.&quot; You must realise that 404 means &quot;dog meat.&quot; and yes, it can only be found in certain parts of the country because in the west it is seen a barbaric.<br />
<br />
For the less adventurous traveler, there are loads of &quot;foreign&quot; restaurants in Lagos, e.g. Sky Bar and the grill at Eco Hotel, Churasco's, Lagoon and Fusion all three next to each other (all-you-can-eat Brazilian grill, Indian and Sushi respectively) with a nice view of the lagoon, Piccolo Mondo, Manuella's Residence (great Italian Pizza from Manuella the Italian lady), Bungalo (close to Coschari's BMW in VI) - good sports bar, grill and Sushi, great Sunday buffet at Radisson Blu. Chocolate Royal is a nice family restaurant with excellent ice cream selection (including ice cream cakes) and pastries in VI. Inside Chocolate Royal is an Oriental restaurant called Métisse. Bottles in VI is a grill and Mexican restaurant. And there are loads more flavours from every corner of the world. Just Google and ask taxi to take you there. Outside Lagos and to a lesser extent Abuja, Western food will tend to disappear, with &quot;Jollof Rice and friend chicken&quot; being a &quot;safe&quot; option if you are not adventurous.<br />
<br />
Foreign restaurants are expensive and you can prepare for a bill of at least $50 to $75 or even $100 per head for main course, ice cream and one drink per person. If this is too much, try the Syrian Club in Ikoyi (turn North - away from the water) at the Mobil filling station in Awolowo Road (the night club street) in Ikoyi, continue a few blocks and on your left you will see the Syrian mosque, turn in the gate just after the mosque and the Syrian Club will be on your right on the inside of the premises with nice Lebanese/Syrian flair at very affordable (for Lagos) prices in an outdoor setting.<br />
<br />
If you are a new expat living in Lagos, do yourself a favour and acquaint yourself early on with the following more expensive, foreign owned, but well worth-it, smaller specialist shops in VI selling all the delicacies and nice imported red meats that foreigners long for in and that Shoprite, Park and Shop and Goodie's (the main supermarkets) may not stock: 1. Deli's on Akin Adesola (the main road leading to Bar Beach), 2. L'Epicérie across the road from Mega Plaza and 3. La Pointe on Kofo Abayomi Street (close to the Brazilian Embassy/Consulate) and not easy to spot. Knowing these places will significantly improve your coping ability in the first couple of months.<br />
<br />
==Drink==<br />
*Nigeria is one of the places where Guinness is brewed outside of Ireland. And they do it pretty well, although it's not the same product. The Guinness brand (with logo and copyrights where they should be) is also used to brew both an alcohol-free malt version of the black stuff, and an extra strong (about 7.5%) version of Guinness in Kenya (in the case of the latter) and Tanzania (in the case of the former). <br />
<br />
*Beer is actually big business in Nigeria, although the move toward evangelism and islamic law is making its mark. Lagos is relatively unaffected due to its cosmopolitan nature. Heineken, Star, Harp, Gulder and other international beers are available.<br />
<br />
*Malt beverages (non alcoholic) are very common in Nigeria. <br />
<br />
*The other cheap drink of choice is gin, which is locally made. Some locals will swear to it making their step uncle's dog blind, though, so be careful.<br />
<br />
*Never drink the water sold in plastic bags. It probably hasn't been boiled, and may carry some nasty diseases. The bottled water and other soft drinks are safe.<br />
<br />
Other drinks to consider include: palm wine, wine, zobo (red soft drink, is a tea of dried roselle flowers), kunun, kai kai (also called ogogoro).<br />
<br />
The northern states have implemented Sharia (Islamic) law, which means that alcohol is prohibited. Ironically, the only places where you can drink a beer in these states are the police staff bars and the army barracks, because these are institutions under federal law. Beer is available in Kano, in restaurants managed by foreign or Christian people, Chinese restaurants, and/or French cafes.<br />
<br />
For a real night out, go to the Sabongari area of the old town. Plenty of bars around that stay open till very late. Many do decent food as well. Sabongari is also the place to buy alcoholic drinks and there are plenty stores open late into the night. Some hotels in Kano are &quot;dry&quot;, however in Tahir Guest Palace the staff will be quite happy to buy you a few bottles of beer for you in your room (all rooms have large fridges).<br />
<br />
==Sleep==<br />
'''Important notice.'''<br />
''Almost all hotels in Nigeria require you to pay before you get your key. This applies even to the Sheraton and the Hilton. Typically you are requested to pay 125% of the room rate and you will be refunded when settling the bill at your departure. If you stay more than one night you need to keep the credit up. However, paying this deposit by credit card can leave you open to subsequent fraudulent use of your details.''<br />
<br />
*The Transcorp Hilton in Abuja is 5 star and a top ranked hotel in Nigeria. It's comparable to nice hotels in other developing countries, although well below the standard of European or North American four- or five-star hotels. However, if you decide to visit the hotel bar, be warned that the single women who seem so interested in you are almost certainly &quot;working.&quot; This is true of many hotels that cater to international clients.<br />
<br />
*In Port Harcourt, the Meridian is quite decent. It's a tad bit expensive but your money's worth is guaranteed.<br />
<br />
*In Lagos, the Sheraton Hotel and the Kuramo Lodge on Victoria Island are ranked 4 star. You can also try the Eko Hotel &amp; Suites adjacent to Kuramo Lodge. It's definitely a favourite for tourists and foreigners.<br />
<br />
*In Kano, you can have a aircond room in Tahir Guest Palace, Prince hotel, or one of many small hotels. The Green Palace Hotel in Kano is awesome. It is roomy, not as isolated as the Prince, and just has a pleasant ambience.<br />
<br />
==Education==<br />
There are lots of private and public primary (elementary) and secondary (high) schools. It is worth it to organize a trip to whatever institution of learning you are interested in as this would give you a personal perspective on what facilities are available in your school of interest. There is a nationwide, standardized common entrance exam for students wishing to go into secondary schools, after they have completed their primary schooling. To gain admission into the universities (both public and private universities are in every state of the federation including the FCT), a prospective student has to sit for and successfully pass the UME(Universities Matriculation Examination) which is administered by JAMB (Joint Admission and Matriculation Board). Also individual universities regularly screen prospective candidates to make sure they are up to par for university level work.<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
Working in Nigeria can be a very positive experience. Nigerian organizations tend to operate like small families, taking in newcomers with open arms and avoiding the coolness and sterility that often characterize the Western professional work environment. For instance, don't even think about coming into the office in the morning without greeting each of your colleagues. Even if you don't, be sure that they will go out of their way to greet you and inquire about your well-being.<br />
<br />
It is hard to make generalizations about a country with 140 million inhabitants, but some Nigerians have a work ethic that would put most Westerners to shame. An eight-hour day (not including lunch) seems to be the norm, though it's not uncommon for people to stay late into the night and even come in for a few hours on weekends. Depending on the organization, a foreigner may be able to avoid this, but one should be prepared to work beyond the standard 35-40 hr work week. <br />
<br />
The notion of &quot;African time&quot; applies very much to the work environment in Nigeria. Meetings are regularly held later than scheduled and often take longer than necessary. Although Nigerians will unabashedly admit to their habitual tardiness, rarely does one see efforts to correct this behavior. The higher ones position, the later one may arrive at a meeting. On top of that, starting the meeting before the important people arrive is very rude--a common principle shared with many Western countries. One should note, however, that when dealing with foreign organizations, Nigerians will often make some efforts to correct this behavior, for some Nigerians are aware that their conception of punctuality is not shared by all.<br />
<br />
Those who are used to the strict North American conception of political correctness at the office may be shocked by the more liberal inter-sexual relations in the Nigerian workplace. Mild sexual jokes are common in meetings and in the office in general, though usually good natured and harmless. A white person working in an all-Nigerian workplace should also be prepared to frequently be reminded of their skin tone, though never in a nasty way. This can become tiresome, but Nigerians are generally very friendly. They use the term &quot;Oyibo&quot; (white man in Yoruba) or &quot;Bature&quot; (white man in Hausa) as a form of affection.<br />
<br />
The use of professional titles in written and verbal form is very common in Nigeria. Expect to address your boss as Sir, Doctor, Colonel, etc., and avoid using the first name of a superior unless given permission to do so. Being a foreigner, you will be forgiven for any faux pas, but it is always best to err on the side of caution and politeness.<br />
<br />
The mobile phone (cell phone) is an essential tool for virtually all urban - and most rural - Nigerians. Because of the instability of local networks, many people have two or even three &quot;handsets&quot;, each on a different network. Anyone doing business in the country for more than a few days should consider having a mobile phone.<br />
<br />
==Stay safe==<br />
Nigeria is a fairly dangerous destination. <br />
<br />
Crime levels are high, particularly in [[Lagos]].<br />
<br />
Be wary of traveling by road outside of the cities at night due to the risk of armed robbery<br />
<br />
The Niger delta area is '''unsafe for tourists'''. There is continual low-level violence between government and militant groups, and there have been several kidnappings of foreign oil workers.<br />
<br />
Many foreign governments advise against travel to much of Northern and Central Nigeria due to ethnic tension, lawlessness and the current activities of Islamist groups such as Boko Haram.<br />
<br />
The waters outside Nigeria is one of the most likely places to be attacked by modern day pirates.<br />
<br />
==Stay healthy==<br />
As is expected all around the world, do not risk unprotected sex with strangers or even with the person you think you know. Travellers to Nigeria are also required to vaccinate themselves against yellow fever, preferably 10 days before arrival in Nigeria. As malaria is prevalent, malaria pills and mosquito nets are also recommended. Polio vaccination in Nigeria is intermittent and there is currently a high rate of infection in the north of the country.<br />
<br />
Swan water is the safe drinking water to look for approx 80 naira for a big bottle. The cheap &quot;pure water&quot; sold in plastic bags is cheaper but not as &quot;pure&quot; as SWAN. EVA water, a brand by Coca Cola Company, is also safe.<br />
<br />
Note that Swan water is almost out of ciruclation. It was popular back then in the nineties but has lost its market control now. It is better to go for Eva water by Coca Cola company or Nestle water by Nestle Nigeria. It is also of extreme importance not to buy water outside good-looking shops.<br />
<br />
It is advisable to purchase bottled water from convenience stores rather than by the roadside. These upscale convenience stores usually purchase their supplies directly from the suppliers, along with soft drinks such as Coca Cola and other bottled beverage products.<br />
<br />
==Respect==<br />
<br />
If you are speaking the language, some of the languages have different ways for someone to address someone older than themselves. <br />
You do not hand things over to people, especially adults and people older than you, with your left hand. It's considered an insult. <br />
<br />
You don't cross or jump over someone's legs if they are sitting with the legs extended out. It's considered bad luck. <br />
<br />
Avoid shaking hands with elders and older people in non Igbo villages. It's disrespectful to do that. Can you bow down a little? Kneeling or genuflecting for women or prostrating by men (especially among the Yoruba) is the normal thing to do. You may not need to do it either, but just show some form of respect when greeting older people. You can get away with not doing that in big cities or urban areas, they are less traditional there. <br />
<br />
When entering a house in the predominantly Muslim North, you have to let them know in advance that you are visiting so that the women can prepare (cover themselves up). Some Islamic customs require women to cover their hair and bodies to other men and this is practiced in the North. Knock on the door and wait to be answered before going in. They will ask you to wait while the women are informed. Do not be offended by the wait.<br />
<br />
Airports can be stressful, as the organisation is a bit confusing particularly at Port Harcourt Airport. If you are White, be prepared to keep hold of a couple of &quot;dash&quot; (Envelopes with a couple of Niara or American dollars), Nothing big, just a small courtesy tip, as sometimes Airport security take longer searching your bags on purpose, as they know and or assume you are wealthy, hoping for a small dash in order to make your search easier.<br />
<br />
This may not always be the case, but if a general states &quot;Do you have an coffee or mineral to give me&quot;, this is a hint that they would appreciate some dash.<br />
<br />
==Contact==<br />
The country code for Nigeria is 234. <br />
<br />
Dialing out from Nigeria: you will need to dial +9 (followed by the) International Code (followed by the) phone digit numbers.<br />
<br />
Dialing into Nigeria: callers use +234 (followed by the) phone digit numbers.<br />
There is also a company in Nigeria Elixir Communication Worldwide [http://elixirworldwide.com] that offers mobile phones for the blind and visually challenged. All the mobile operators have a roaming agreement with other mobile operators around the world.<br />
<br />
==Get out==<br />
* Travel north to [[Niger]], and into the Saharan desert.<br />
* Travel east to [[Cameroon]], for some mountain climbing.<br />
* Travel west to [[Benin]], the best way out when traveling to Europe overland.<br />
* Travel northeast to [[Chad]].<br />
<br />
{{outline}}<br />
{{isPartOf|West_Africa}}<br />
{{Wikipedia|Nigeria}}<br />
{{Countryguide}}<br />
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[[fr:Nigeria]]<br />
[[hu:Nigéria]]<br />
[[it:Nigeria]]<br />
[[ja:ナイジェリア]]<br />
[[nl:Nigeria]]<br />
[[pl:Nigeria]]<br />
[[pt:Nigéria]]<br />
[[ru:Нигерия]]<br />
[[sv:Nigeria]]<br />
[[zh:尼日利亚]]<br />
[[wts:Category:Nigeria]]<br />
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[[WikiPedia:Nigeria]]<br />
[[Dmoz:Africa/Nigeria/]]<br />
[[World66:africa/nigeria]]</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Russia&diff=1944524Russia2012-10-20T18:20:47Z<p>AHeneen: rmv {{otheruses}} tag...no disambiguation page</p>
<hr />
<div>{{quickbar<br />
| image=[[Moscow's Kremlin along the riverbank.jpg|noframe|250px]]<br />
| location=[[Image:LocationRussia.png|250px]]<br />
| flag=[[Image:ru-flag.png]]<br />
| capital=[[Moscow]]<br />
| government=Federal Republic<br />
| currency=Russian Ruble (Pуб.)<br />
| area=''total:'' 17,098,242 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;br /&gt;''water:'' 720,500 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;br /&gt;''land:'' 16,377,742 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;<br />
| population=143,200,000 (2012 estimate)<br />
| language=Russian<br />
| religion=Russian Orthodox 46.5%, Muslim 6.5%, Spiritual 25.1%, Atheist 12.9, Others 18.4%.<br />
| electricity=220V/50Hz (European plug)<br />
| callingcode=+7<br />
| tld=.ru<br />
| timezone=UTC +3 to UTC +12<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Russia''', ([[Russian phrasebook|Russian]]: Россия) [http://www.russiatourism.ru/en] — officially known as the Russian Federation — is the world's largest country, spanning [[Europe|Eastern Europe]], and northern [[Asia]], sharing land borders with [[Norway]], [[Finland]], [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Poland]], [[Belarus]], and [[Ukraine]] to the west , [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] (including the disputed regions of [[Abkhazia]] and [[South Ossetia]]) and [[Azerbaijan]] to the southwest, and [[Kazakhstan]], [[China]], [[Mongolia]], [[North Korea]] to the east and much of the south. <br />
<br />
==Regions==<br />
<br />
{{Regionlist|<br />
<br />
regionmap=Russia regions map.png |<br />
regionmapsize=500px |<br />
regionmaptext= |<br />
<br />
<br />
region1name=[[Central Russia]] |<br />
region1color=#ad92ac |<br />
region1items=[[Moscow|Federal City of Moscow]], [[Ivanovo Oblast]], [[Kaluga Oblast]], [[Kostroma Oblast]], [[Moscow Oblast]], [[Ryazan Oblast]], [[Smolensk Oblast]], [[Tver Oblast]], [[Tula Oblast]], [[Vladimir Oblast]], [[Yaroslavl Oblast]] |<br />
region1description= The richest side in the entire country, dominated by spectacular architecture and historical buildings. It is the country's gate to Europe, and houses the capital city [[Moscow]]. |<br />
<br />
region2name=[[Chernozemye]] |<br />
region2color=#8f9271 |<br />
region2items=[[Belgorod Oblast]], [[Bryansk Oblast]], [[Kursk Oblast]], [[Lipetsk Oblast]], [[Oryol Oblast]], [[Tambov Oblast]], [[Voronezh Oblast]] |<br />
region2description= South to [[Central Russia]], the region is famous for its rich, deep, black soil (''Chernozem'' in Russian means &quot;Black soil&quot;). This region played as the important battleground during World War II |<br />
<br />
region3name=[[Northwestern Russia]] |<br />
region3color=#9795aa|<br />
region3items=[[Saint Petersburg (district)|Federal City of Saint Petersburg]], [[Arkhangelsk Oblast]], [[Karelia]], [[Komi Republic]], [[Leningrad Oblast]], [[Murmansk Oblast]], [[Nenetsia]], [[Novgorod Oblast]], [[Pskov Oblast]], [[Vologda Oblast]] |<br />
region3description= Home to the former imperial capital [[Saint Petersburg]] also known as ''Northern capital''. It combines some beautiful landscapes of large lakes Ladoga and Onega, medieval forts of [[Pskov Oblast]] with the lacustrine region of [[Karelia]] and provides a gate for the country to enter Scandinavian territories.|<br />
<br />
region4name=[[Kaliningrad Oblast]] |<br />
region4color=#cc6262 |<br />
region4items=often considered as a part of [[Northwestern Russia]] |<br />
region4description= The only exclave of Russia, the Kaliningrad oblast allows a gate for Russia to share borders with [[Poland]] and [[Lithuania]], and is a key site for where the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be held. |<br />
<br />
region5name=[[Southern Russia]] |<br />
region5color=#85aa90 |<br />
region5items=[[Adygea]], [[Chechnya]], [[Dagestan]], [[Ingushetia]], [[Kabardino-Balkaria]], [[Kalmykia]], [[Karachay-Cherkessia]], [[Krasnodar Krai]], [[North Ossetia]], [[Rostov Oblast]], [[Stavropol Krai]] |<br />
region5description= The warmest region in the entire country, with beautiful resort cities such as subtropical [[Sochi]], and also brings a path to the mountainous [[North Caucasus]]. |<br />
<br />
region6name=[[Volga Region]] |<br />
region6color=#adb179 |<br />
region6items=[[Astrakhan Oblast]], [[Chuvashia]], [[Kirov Oblast]], [[Mari El]], [[Mordovia]], [[Nizhny Novgorod Oblast]], [[Penza Oblast]], [[Samara Oblast]], [[Saratov Oblast]], [[Tatarstan]], [[Udmurtia]], [[Ulyanovsk Oblast]], [[Volgograd Oblast]] |<br />
region6description= The most industrialized region in the entire country, known for producing wide-scale military equipment in cities such as [[Izhevsk]]. Region is widely known for its rich culture and history. |<br />
<br />
region7name=[[Urals|Urals Region]] |<br />
region7color=#8eb877 |<br />
region7items=[[Bashkortostan]], [[Chelyabinsk Oblast]], [[Khantia-Mansia]], [[Kurgan Oblast]], [[Orenburg Oblast]], [[Perm Krai]], [[Sverdlovsk Oblast]], [[Tyumen Oblast]], [[Yamalia]] |<br />
region7description= One of the wealthiest regions, known for producing much of the resources Russia needs today and is named after vast Ural mountains.|<br />
<br />
region8name=[[Siberia]] |<br />
region8color=#829bad |<br />
region8items=[[Altai Krai]], [[Altai Republic]], [[Buryatia]], [[Irkutsk Oblast]], [[Kemerovo Oblast]], [[Khakassia]], [[Krasnoyarsk Krai]], [[Novosibirsk Oblast]], [[Omsk Oblast]], [[Tomsk Oblast|Tomsk]], [[Tuva]], [[Zabaykalsky Krai]] |<br />
region8description= The largest area in the country diverse in landscape and yearly temperatures with stunning lakes, world longest rivers, but swampy in most part in the center and north. Provides a gate to enter into much of Asia.|<br />
<br />
region9name=[[Russian Far East]] |<br />
region9color=#ad9d94 |<br />
region9items=[[Amur Oblast]], [[Chukotka]], [[Jewish Autonomous Oblast]], [[Kamchatka|Kamchatka Krai]], [[Khabarovsk Krai]], [[Magadan Oblast]], [[Primorsky Krai]], [[Sakhalin|Sakhalin Oblast]], [[Yakutia]] |<br />
region9description= One of the coldest places in all of Russia, even home to the coldest city in the world, [[Yakutsk]]. Worldwide renown for boasting national parks, beautiful scenery and mountains and even allows the traveler to see the volcanoes of [[Kamchatka]]. The region is also a gate to enter into [[North Korea]], [[China]] and [[Mongolia]]. |<br />
<br />
}}<br />
<br />
&lt;br clear=&quot;all&quot; /&gt;<br />
<br />
==Cities==<br />
Here is a representative sample of nine Russian cities with their Anglicized and Russian Cyrillic names:<br />
[[Image:Winterpalace_ru.jpg|thumb|350px|The Hermitage Museum in [[St. Petersburg (Russia)|St. Petersburg]]]]<br />
<br />
*[[Moscow]] (Москва) — Russia's gargantuan capital is one of the world's greatest cities and has endless attractions to offer an adventurous visitor<br />
<br />
*[[Irkutsk]] (Иркутск) — the world's favorite Siberian city, located within an hour of [[Lake Baikal]] on the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]]<br />
*[[Kazan]] (Казань) — the capital of Tatar culture is an attractive city in the heart of the [[Volga Region]] with an impressive kremlin<br />
*[[Nizhny Novgorod]] (Нижний Новгород) — often overlooked despite being one of the largest cities in Russia, Nizhny Novgorod is well worth a visit for its kremlin, Sakharov museum, and nearby Makaryev Monastery<br />
*[[Saint Petersburg]] (Санкт-Петербург) — Russia's cultural and former political capital is home to the Hermitage, one of the world's best museums, while the city center is a living open air museum in its own right, making this city one of the world's top travel destinations<br />
*[[Sochi]] (Сочи) — Russia's favorite Black Sea beach resort has been largely unknown to foreigners, but that is set to change in a major way when it hosts the 2014 Winter Olympic Games<br />
*[[Vladivostok]] (Владивосток) — often referred to (somewhat ironically) as &quot;Russia's [[San Francisco]],&quot; full of hilly streets and battleships, this is Russia's principal Pacific city and the terminus of the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]]<br />
*[[Volgograd]] (Волгоград) — formerly Stalingrad, the scene of perhaps the deciding battle of World War II, and now home to a ''massive'' war memorial<br />
*[[Yekaterinburg]] (Екатеринбург) — the center of the Urals region and one of Russia's principal cultural centers is a good stop on the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]] and an arrival point for visitors to the [[Urals]], the second russian financial center.<br />
<br />
==Other destinations==<br />
<br />
[[Image:Lakebaikal.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Lake Baikal]], the deepest lake in the world]]<br />
<br />
*[[Yekaterinburg#Get_out|Border of Europe and Asia]] — it's clearly defined in [[Yekaterinburg]], and a very popular stop for photo ops straddling the continents!<br />
*[[Dombai]] — while neither as internationally famous nor as well kept nowadays, this is the most beautiful mountain resort area of the [[Northern Caucasus]].<br />
*[[Golden Ring]] — a popular loop of pretty historical cities and towns forming a ring around Moscow.<br />
*[[Kamchatka]] — the region of active volcanos, geysers, mineral springs and bears walking in the streets.<br />
*[[Kizhi]] — one of the most precious sites in all Russia, Kizhi Island on Lake Onega is famous for its spectacular ensemble of traditional wooden churches.<br />
*[[Komi Virgin Forests]] — profoundly remote, and hard-to-visit, but this is by far Europe's largest wild area, containing Russia's largest National Park of Yugyd Va.<br />
*[[Lake Baikal]] — the &quot;pearl of Siberia&quot; is the world's deepest and biggest lake by volume and a remarkable destination for all who love the outdoors.<br />
*[[Volgograd|Mamaev Kurgan]] — a massive monument and museum on and about the battlefield upon which the twentieth century's most pivotal battle played out: Stalingrad.<br />
*[[Solovetsky Islands]] — far north in the White Sea and home to the beautiful Solovetsky Monastery, which has served as both a military fortress and a gulag throughout its tortuous history. <br />
<br />
<br />
{| style=&quot;float:right; clear:right;margin-left: 1em; width:280px;&quot; cellpadding=8 cellspacing=1 border=0<br />
|-<br />
|align=left width=100% style=&quot;background-color:#f3f3ff; border:1px solid; padding-left: 0.5em; padding-right: 0.5em&quot;|<br />
Russia, by mind, one can't understand,&lt;br/&gt;Nor measure by common yardstick.&lt;br/&gt;She has of herself a build unique:&lt;br/&gt;In Russia you only believe.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;''«Умом Россию не понять,''&lt;br /&gt;<br />
''Аршином общим не измерить:''&lt;br /&gt;<br />
''У ней особенная стать —''&lt;br /&gt;<br />
''В Россию можно только верить''.»,&lt;br/&gt;Fyodor&amp;nbsp;Tyutchev,&amp;nbsp;1866''<br />
|}<br />
Russia is the '''largest country''' in the world by far; spanning nine time zones, its territory covers nearly twice as much of the earth as that of the next largest country, [[Canada]]. Despite its massive size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture. Instead it has huge reserves of some of the world's most important resources (oil, gas, coal, platinum, gold, chromium, water). Mount Elbrus (''Gora El'brus''), at 5,633 m, is Europe's, and Russia's, tallest peak.<br />
<br />
Russia has both extensive coastlines bordering the Arctic Ocean and Northwest Pacific, as well as smaller coastlines on the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. Russia is bordered by [[Norway]] and [[Finland]] to the northwest, [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Belarus]], and [[Ukraine]] to the west, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Azerbaijan]] to the southwest, [[Kazakhstan]], [[China]] and [[Mongolia]] to the south, [[Japan]] (via strait) and [[North Korea]] to the southeast. The [[United States of America|American]] state of [[Alaska]] lies opposite the easternmost point of Russia across the Bering Strait.<br />
<br />
Russia also administers the exclave of [[Kaliningrad Oblast]] on the Baltic coast located in between [[Poland]] and [[Lithuania]]. <br />
<br />
===History===<br />
<br />
<br />
====An Imperial Power====<br />
Russian identity can be traced to the Middle Ages, its first state known as [[Kiev]]an Rus and its religion rooted in Byzantians' Christianity that was adopted from [[Istanbul|Constantinople]]. However it was not considered part of mainstream Europe until the reign of Tsar Peter the Great, who ruled until 1725. He was a dedicated Europhile and the first Tsar to visit 'Europe proper'. <br />
<br />
Peter established the Russian Empire in 1721, although the Romanov dynasty had been in power since 1613. One of Russia's most charismatic and forceful leaders, Peter built the foundations of empire on a centralized and authoritarian political culture and forced &quot;westernization&quot; of the nation. As part of this effort he moved the capital from the medieval and insular city of Moscow to St. Petersburg, a city built by force of his will and strength of his treasury. Modeled largely on French and Italianate styles, St. Petersburg became known as Russia's &quot;Window on the West&quot; and adopted the manners and style of the royal courts of western Europe, to the point of adopting French as its preferred language. <br />
<br />
The Russian Empire reached its peak during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, producing many colorful and enlightened figures such as Catherine the Great, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy. Nevertheless, the gulf between the authoritarian dynasty and its subjects became more apparent with each generation. By the late 19th century, political crises followed in rapid succession, with rebellion and repression locked a a vicious cycle of death and despair. The occasional attempts by the Romanovs and the privileged classes to reform the society and ameliorate the condition of the underclasses invariably ended in failure. Russia entered the World War I in the union of the ''Triple Entente'', like other European Empires with catastrophic results for itself. Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, proved to be feckless, weak, and distracted by personal tragedies and the burdens of the war. The government proved unable to hold back the Russian Revolution of 1917. Deposed and held under house arrest, Nicholas, Alexandra, and their children -- and with them the Romanov dynasty -- were exterminated by gunfire in the basement of [[Yekaterinburg]] manor house and buried in unmarked graves which were found after Communism and reburied in the St. Paul and Peter Cathedral in [[Saint Petersburg]].<br />
<br />
====Headquarters of Communism ====<br />
World War I strained Imperial Russia's governmental and social institutions to the breaking point of Revolution in 1917. Following a brief interim government headed by social democrat Alexander Kerensky, the Bolshevik faction of the Communist Party under Marxist Vladimir Lenin seized power, withdrew Russia from the war, and launched a purge of clerics, political dissidents, aristocrats, the bourgeoise, and the kulak class of wealthy independent farming classes. A brutal civil war between the &quot;Red Army&quot; of the communist leadership and the &quot;White Army&quot; of the nobility and middle classes lasted until late 1920. In his years in power, Lenin used the Red Army, the internal security apparatus, and the Communist Party leadership to exterminate and imprison millions of political opponents, launch a terror campaign to insure strict Communist orthodoxy, secure control over the fragments of the old Romanov Empire, and &quot;collectivize&quot; farmers and farming into gigantic state-owned farms. <br />
<br />
The revolutionary state was not directly ruled by the officials in titular control of the government, which was established in the name of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The government in the commonly understood sense was largely irrelevant both in fact and in Communist theory throughout the years of Communist control. The real power lay in the leadership of the Communist Party, the Red Army, and the internal security apparatus (secret police). <br />
<br />
Following Lenin's death in 1924, a power struggle among the Bolshevik leadership ensued, with Josef Stalin emerging as the new leader of the Communist Party and dictator of the USSR. Stalin's brutal rule (1928-53) was marked by waves of &quot;purges&quot; in which suspected dissidents in the government, the Party, the Red Army, and even the security forces were executed or exiled to gulags (prison camps) on little or no evidence. In addition to following up Lenin's forced collectivization of agriculture and his destruction of private property and economic liberty, Stalin introduced a ruthless economic system (&quot;socialism in one country&quot;) that rapidly industrialized the USSR. Stalin's rivals to succeed Lenin, as well as critics arising thereafter, typically ended up as victims of the purges. Although seen as less of an idealist than his predecessor, Stalin did relentlessly pursue international revolution through the Russia-based &quot;Comintern&quot; control over the communist parties of foreign countries, and foreign espionage.<br />
<br />
World War II, from a Soviet perspective, began with Stalin abruptly entering into a Non-Aggression Pact with Nazi Germany. The Treaty, which shook Western governments to their core and stunned the Left in Europe and America, guaranteed Hitler a free hand to launch war against Poland, France, and England. The Pact also granted the USSR itself leave to invade and conquer neutral Finland and take over all of eastern Poland after the German invasion in 1939. Finally in June 1941, having conquered France and most of the rest of Western Europe, Hitler turned on his erstwhile ally and invaded the USSR. A change to an alliance of necessity with the Western nations was instrumental in the defeat of Nazism in 1945. The Red Army's bloody campaigns on the Eastern Front, culminating in its capture of Berlin, resulted in over 20 million Russian deaths, most of them civilian victims, or soldiers thrown into ghastly land battles. <br />
<br />
At the conclusion of the Second World War, the USSR rapidly moved to establish control over all of central Europe. It installed Communist regimes in East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Romania and effectively crushed political dissent. In Asia, it also helped to install communist governments in China, North Vietnam and North Korea. Western critics came to describe the USSR and its European and Asian &quot;satellites&quot; as trapped behind an &quot;Iron Curtain&quot; of ruthless totalitarianism and command economies. Yugoslavia's Communist Party managed to establish a degree of independence from Moscow, but uprisings in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968) were ruthlessly crushed. <br />
<br />
After Stalin's death in 1953, Soviet heavy industry and military might continued to grow under Georgy Malenkov (1953-1955) and Nikita Khrushchev (1955-1964), Stalin's successors as General Secretary of the Party. Although attempts were made to produce consumer goods, the efforts usually failed, and the USSR continued to struggle under the yoke of collectivization and totalitarianism. In 1956, Khrushchev renounced the excesses of Stalin's regime and commenced his own purge to &quot;de-Stalinize&quot; the economy and society of the USSR. Results were mixed, and Khrushchev himself was deposed. In the 1960s the USSR became the first country to launch a spoutnik and a man into the space. The Soviet Union's reached its military, diplomatic, and industrial peak during the closing years of Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982). But continuing corruption and economic malaise marched inexorably to a crisis that eventually led General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-91) to introduce glasnost (openness) and perestroika (limited economic freedom). His initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the empire. The European satellites broke free from rule by the USSR and their local Communist leaders and the USSR itself collapsed into 15 independent countries.<br />
<br />
====A Nascent Democracy====<br />
[[Image:Novgorod millenium 4.jpg|thumb|330px|Novgorod memorial to the Viking Ryurik and the ensuing 1,000 years of Russian history]]<br />
<br />
The Russian Federation emerged from the Soviet Union, accompanied by a storm of problems followed. The first leader of the newly formed nation was Boris Yeltsin, who rose to power by standing up to an attempted putsch by the KGB. Yeltsin largely succeeded in transferring control over the country from the old Soviet elite to his own oligarchical apparatus. Yeltsin was a charismatic leader widely supported by the West, but his government proved to be unstable. A wave of economic hardship put Russia's economy in ruins and left the military underfunded and undisciplined. During this time, Russian organized crime and its relationship with the government, now universally recognized as corrupt and incompetent, assumed greater control over the nation, even as political reforms were taking place. Ironically, before he came to power Yeltsin had labelled Russia as the &quot;biggest mafia state in the world&quot;. <br />
<br />
Russia was also at war with Chechen separatists, which had devastating consequences for the already weak Russian economy. Widespread corruption, poverty, and large-scale political and social problems, eventually forced to Yeltsin resign, and Vladimir Putin filled his remaining term (January - April 2000) as President. An ex-KGB officer under the Communist regime, and head of the revived Russian spy service under Yeltsin, Putin imposed his own personality and will on the unruly and criminal quarters of the country, but has been much condemned for his authoritarian behavior. Having served his constitutionally limited terms (2000-2008), Putin titularly stepped down as President but continued to control the government through his anointed successor, Dmitry Medvedev. To no one's surprise, Putin resumed the presidency when eligible again in 2012.<br />
<br />
Since 2000, under Putin's direct and indirect rule, the economy has bounced back from crisis, thanks in no small part to five-fold increases in the prices of raw materials Russia has in abundance. Inflation has dropped down from the triple digits into single units, poverty has been reduced, and Russia has re-emerged as a dominant regional economic, political and military power. This performance has often been called the &quot;Russian Miracle.&quot; <br />
<br />
Today, the modern Russia still has to fully recover from the doldrums that have hit the country in recent years, with inflation driving up prices, an increasingly unstoppable burden to combat pervasive corruption, an under-competitive political system, conflict in the North Caucasus, a demographic crisis, and decreasing economic competition. Russians also appear to be facing up to the problem of reconciling Putin's successes with his totalitarian and self-aggrandizing impulses. Nonetheless, Russians have achieved a much higher standard of living since the fall of the USSR.<br />
<br />
===Terrain===<br />
The terrain consists of broad plains with low hills west of the [[Urals]]; vast coniferous forest and tundra in [[Siberia]]; uplands and mountains along southern border regions; mountainous and volcanic throughout much of the [[Russian Far East]].<br />
<br />
===Climate===<br />
Russia is a cold country, but there are always shades in the grey. The contrast of tundra's permafrost, which occupies 65% of Russian land and exotic Black sea coast has in between the continental climate, which is the most inhabited zone of European Russia, southern regions of Siberia and the Russian Far East. Its summers are always warm with a good portion of hot days enabling outdoor swimming in many of rivers, lakes and the seas.<br />
<br />
===Holidays===<br />
[[Image:Birch forest near Novosibirsk.jpg|thumb|370px|Siberian birch forest near Novosibirsk]]<br />
<br />
Russia's list of holidays is divided into federally and regionally established, ethnic, historical, professional and religious. The first two types are all-country day-off and should be taken into account while planning a trip.<br />
These are official holidays in Russian Federation:<br />
* New Year Holidays (1-5 January) are often merged with Christmas and make up more than a week off.<br />
* Orthodox Christmas (7 January).<br />
* Fatherland Defender Day (23 February).<br />
* International Women's Day (8 March).<br />
* The Day of Spring and Labour (1 May).<br />
* Victory Day (9 May).<br />
* Day of Russia (12 June).<br />
* People's Unity Day (4 November).<br />
<br />
===Measurement units===<br />
Russian system of measurement is the same as European one. Expect to encounter Centigrades, kilometers, kilogrammes, litres and so on. The archaic units for distance are ''versta'' and ''vershok'', for weight — ''pud''.<br />
<br />
==Get in==<br />
<br />
===Visas===<br />
Citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States, [[Argentina]] (90 days), [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (90 days), [[Brazil]] (90 days), [[Chile]] (90 days), [[Colombia]] (90 days), [[Croatia]] (3 months, invitation required), [[Cuba]] (30 days), [[Hong Kong]] (14 days), [[Israel]] (90 days), [[Macedonia]] (90 days), [[Montenegro]] (90 days), [[Nicaragua]] (90 days), [[Peru]] (90 days), [[Serbia]] (30 days, only biometric passports)[http://ambasadarusije.rs/ru/pr/09/001.php], [[Thailand]] (30 days), [[Turkey]] (30 days), [[Venezuela]] (90 days) all do not need a visa. Anyone else does.<br />
<br />
Transit through Moscow Sheremetyevo [http://svo.aero/en/transit/rules/], Moscow Domodedovo or Yekaterinburg Koltsovo airports does not require a transit visa, provided the traveller has a confirmed onward flight, remains in the airport for no more than 24 hours and is ''not in transit to or from [[Belarus]] and [[Kazakhstan]]'' (travel to and from these countries use domestic terminals). Passing through St. Petersburg Pulkovo airport ''requires a transit (or other) visa''. Visas can, in some cases, be obtained from consular officers at the airports.<br />
<br />
A &quot;visa-free&quot; regime will be introduced for visitors from all nations for the duration of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Russia. <br />
<br />
For those unfortunates that require a visa, the complexity of the process depends on the class of visa. Thirty day tourist visas are fairly straightforward to acquire; 90 day (and more) business visas, less so. It is best to start the application process well in advance. While expedited processing is available to those who need visas quickly, it can double the application cost.<br />
<br />
'''Arranging a visa basically involves two steps: 1.) Getting an invitation and 2.) Applying for the visa.''' <br />
<br />
You may arrive at any time on or after the start date of your visa's validity and may depart at any time on or before its expiry date. Normally, an exit visa is included in transit, private visit/homestay, tourist, and business visas so long as the visa is still valid. Other classes, such as student visas, still require a separate exit visa that can take up to three weeks to process.<br />
<br />
Exit and reentry during the validity period of your visa requires permits. Getting these permits is a Kafkaesque bureaucratic nightmare that is best avoided entirely by getting a double- or multiple-entry visa in the first place.<br />
<br />
If you're in Russia and have lost your passport, your sponsor, not your embassy, must apply to the Federal Migration Service to transfer your visa to your replacement passport. Having a copy of your old visa helps with this, but is not sufficient to let you depart.<br />
<br />
====1. Getting an invitation====<br />
[[Image:Narva vs Ivangorod.jpg|thumb|450px|Russia's most striking border crossing—the Friendship Bridge between the castles of [[Narva]] and [[Ivangorod]] ]]<br />
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The invitation type determines the visa. A tourist invitation begets a tourist visa, a private visit invitation begets a private visit visa etc. Except for tourist visas, invitations are official documents issued by Russian government agencies and must be applied for by the person or organization inviting you. The invitation will include the intended dates of travel and the number of entries requires (1, 2 or multiple). The dates on the invitation determine the period of the ensuing visa's validity. If in doubt of dates, ensure that the invitation covers a period longer than the intended stay: a tourist visa valid for 7 days costs the same as one valid for 30 days.<br />
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In the likely situation you have to buy your invitation, shop around globally: all invitations come from Russia and the company that gets it for you will have a base in Russia. It doesn't make a difference whether its website is based in Germany, UK, USA or Swaziland. Many embassies and consulates only require a copy of the invitation, however this is not always the case so check with the embassy or consulate beforehand. If the original invitation is required it will have to be flown from Russia anyway. It is only applying for the visa itself that generally requires the application to be made in the applicant's homeland.<br />
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A '''tourist invitation''' (also called '''reservation confirmation''') is a letter of confirmation of booking and pre-payment of accommodation and travel arrangements in Russia. It is accompanied by a '''tourist voucher'''. These two documents can be issued by &quot;government approved&quot; tour operators, hotels, online hotel booking services or Russian travel agencies (several Russian travel agencies have offices outside Russia and are adept at facilitating visa applications). &quot;Government approval&quot; here means that the organization in question has a &quot;consular reference&quot; and has been registered with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Only hotels and travel agencies that have a consular reference can issue confirmations valid for visa purposes. '''An ordinary hotel booking is not sufficient to constitute an invitation.''' Some hotels charge a fee to issue the invitation.<br />
<br />
Booking one night in a hotel will get you an invitation valid for one day (maybe two) and hence the resulting visa will be valid for a very brief time. '''For independent travellers planning to travel around Russia, it is best to get an invitation through an agency'''. These agencies will issue a confirmation for a fee (approx. $30 or £15), ''without actually collecting the accommodation prepayment''. While the strict legality of such is questionable, it is a largely academic point and does not leads to problems for the traveller. If your itinerary is confined to only one hotel, then it makes sense to obtain the invitation documents directly from the hotel as the service fee will be similar.<br />
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Consider getting a '''private/homestay''' visa if you have friends or relatives in Russia (they do not necessarily have to be Russian). They would need to seek an invitation through their local Passport and Visa Division of the Federal Migration Service (formerly OVIR). These invitations tend to take at least a month to process. The inviting individual also becomes solely responsible for all your activities while in Russia and can be penalized heavily if something were to go wrong. Because of this, personal invitations are usually not available for a fee through the net.<br />
<br />
'''Business invitations''' are issued by the government. They are generally time-consuming and costly to acquire but they can be quickly arranged for exorbitant fees. Any registered company in Russia can apply for a business invitation. Travel agencies and visa specialists can also get them issued for you. Business visas have longer validity than tourist visas. Being a tourist on a business visa ''is'' permitted, so anyone wanting more than a 30-day stay should get one of these. As a rough guide, one UK company can arrange a ''business invitation'' for a single 90 day stay for various amounts between £38 (for 12 working day processing) and £121 (for 2 working day processing).<br />
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Invitations for '''student''' visas are issued by the educational institution where you plan to study. Most universities and language schools are familiar with the process.<br />
<br />
Some Russian local governments have a right to invite foreigners for '''cultural exchanges''' by sending a message directly to the Embassy or Consulate of Russia overseas, requesting the visa be issued to a particular foreigner or group of foreigners. Such messages are used instead of an invitation. This is normally the way to go if you are invited by the government.<br />
<br />
====2. Applying for the visa====<br />
[[Image:KK 0855a.jpg|thumb|310px|Arriving via nuclear-powered ice breaker is always one option.]]<br />
<br />
Different embassies and consulates have different requirements for visa applications. They may issue visas by mail, they may require application in person, they may accept a copy of the invitation, they may require the original. They may accept payment by card, they may insist on a money order. Check with the embassy or consulate beforehand - in most cases it will be on their website.<br />
<br />
Visa service companies, for a fee, will double-check your application and invitation, go to the embassy for you, and return your passport to you. This service is nothing that you cannot do yourself (unlike arranging the invitation) but it can save time and frustration.<br />
<br />
'''A single entry, 30 day tourist visa''' for citizens of EU-Schengen countries costs €35 and takes three working days for standard processing (€70 gets express service for next day collection). For UK citizens the price is £50 and processing takes 5 working days not 3 (express service is next day and costs £100). For citizens of the USA the price is, at the present, $140 ($150 for multiple-entry visas), with standard processing being at least 4 working days (express service is $250 and stated to be 3 working days).<br />
<br />
In some countries which have a busy trade in Russian visas (e.g. UK and USA), the visa processing has been outsourced to private companies. These companies levy a further unavoidable '''application fee''' on top of the '''visa fees''' stated above. For applications made in the UK (by a citizen of any country) the application fee is £26.40 for standard service and £33.60 for express service. For applications made in the USA, the application fee is $30.<br />
<br />
'''The total cost of getting a visa usually has three parts: invitation fee, visa fee and application fee.''' If you're lucky, one or more of these may be zero but be prepared to be hit by all three. Take as an example a UK citizen applying for a 30 day, single entry tourist visa with standard processing in the UK (not the cheapest example and not the most expensive): invitation bought through an agency - £15, visa fee - £50, application fee - £26.40 = £91.40 (that's roughly US$140).<br />
<br />
Tourist, homestay, and transit visas can allow one or two entries. Tourist and homestay visas have a maximum validity of 30 days. Transit visas are typically for one to three days for air travel and up to ten days for overland journeys. Business and other visa categories can be issued for one, two or multiple entries.<br />
<br />
Any business visa can permit a maximum stay in any one visit of up to 90 days. However, a business visa only permits a total stay of '''90 days in Russia in a 180-day period''', regardless of how long it is valid for (whether it be 3, 6, or 12 months). If you stay in Russia for 90 days, you have to leave and your visa will not permit you to return for another 90 days. This means (give or take - a year isn't 360 days) that a six month visa permits as long a total time in Russia as a three month visa! <br />
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Once you have your visa, check all the dates and information as it's much easier to correct mistakes before you travel than after you arrive!<br />
<br />
===Arrival and customs===<br />
<br />
On arriving in Russia, you'll have to fill out a landing card. As in most places, one half is surrendered on entry and the other portion should remain with your passport until you leave Russia. It is usually printed in both Russian and English though other languages may be available. Upon leaving Russia, a lost landing card may be overlooked with the help of a nominal fine.<br />
<br />
Usually, you will be permitted to enter and remain in Russia for the term of your visa but it's up to the immigration officer to decide and they may decide otherwise, though this is unlikely.<br />
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Those who enter Russia with valuable electronic items or musical instruments (especially violins that look antique and expensive), antiques, large amounts of currency, or other such items are required to declare them on the customs entry card and must insist on having the card stamped by a customs officer upon arrival. Even if the customs officer claims that it is not necessary to declare such items, insist on a stamp on your declaration. Having this stamp may prevent considerable hassle (fines, confiscation) upon departure from Russia should the customs agent at departure decide that an item should have been declared upon entry.<br />
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===Registration===<br />
<br />
Upon arrival to Russia and then subsequently upon arriving in any new city, you must be '''registered''' within 7 business days of arriving. Your host in that city (not necessarily the one who issued the invitation) is responsible for registering you. The proof of registration is a separate piece of paper with a big blue stamp on it. Registration costs money, is annoying and is not generally checked upon leaving Russia. However, it is worth doing at least in the first city you visit. Larger hotels will not let you check in without seeing your registration (at least if you've been in Russia for more than 7 business days) and corrupt police who insist that a lack of registration is your fault are more annoying and more expensive than paying the registration fee. <br />
<br />
This law is a relic from the Soviet days of controlled internal migration. Today, even Russians are supposed to register if they move cities. The official line is that these expensive pieces of paper with blue stamps on help control illegal immigration from the poorer countries to Russia's south in [[Central Asia]], the [[Caucasus]], [[China]] and even [[North Korea]].<br />
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[[Image:Stalin-grave.jpg|thumb|260px|Keep visa woes in perspective—it used to be harder to travel around here.]]<br />
<br />
===Overstaying a visa===<br />
<br />
If you overstay, even by a few minutes, you will likely be prohibited from leaving until you obtain a valid exit visa. You ''may'' be able to obtain a visa extension from the consular officer at an airport against the payment of a fine if you overstayed for fewer than three days, but this is not guaranteed. Generally, though, obtaining an extension requires an intervention by your sponsor, a payment of a fine, and a wait of up to three weeks. <br />
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Be careful if your flight leaves after midnight and be aware of the time at which the train crosses the border. Border guards will not let you depart if you're leaving even 10 min after your visa expires! A common pitfall is the [[Helsinki]]-bound train, which only enters [[Finland]] after midnight. <br />
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If your overstay was due to reasons such as medical problems, the Federal Migration Service may instead issue a ''Home Return Certificate'' rather than an exit visa which is valid to depart Russia within ten days of issue.<br />
<br />
===By plane===<br />
[[Image:Aeroflot plane, moscow.jpg|thumb|420px|The hammer and sickle flies on, Aeroflot]]<br />
<br />
Moscow and Saint Petersburg are served by direct flights from most European capitals, and Moscow also has direct flights from many cities in East Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. US non-stop flights from the United States to Russia are offered by Singapore (from Houston to Moscow, Domodedovo), Delta (from New York and Atlanta to Moscow, Sheremetyevo), United Airlines (from Washington to Moscow, Domodedovo) and Aeroflot (from New York, Washington and Los Angeles to Moscow, Sheremeryevo). There are also non-stop services offered from Toronto and Montreal, Canada to Moscow, Domodedovo operated by Transaero.<br />
<br />
Please, mind that there are 3 international airports in Moscow: Sheremetyevo (SVO) in the northwest, Domodedovo (DME) in the south and Vnukovo (VKO) in the southwest. Getting between these airports is quite challenging, because there are no means of rapid transfer between them, so if you are planning a transfer trip, mind airports for all your flights. Usual taxi fee for a trip between any of airports is about 1500 rubles, which is expensive unless you travel with others. You can, of course, use public means of transportation which are much cheaper (ranging from 200-500 rubles per person depending on means you choose), but if you don't speak Russian at all and first time in the country — you better think twice before attempting that, you might easily get lost. <br />
<br />
Airport Sheremetyevo has undergone major expansion in 2010 with two new terminals commissioned and consists of five terminals. Terminals B (old Sheremetyevo-1) and C are located on the northern edge of the airport and provide mostly domestic and charter services. Terminals D and E operate since December 2010 along with older Terminal F (old Sheremetyevo-2, built for Summer Olympics in Moscow in 1980). Terminal D hosts domestic and international Aeroflot flights, Terminals E and F host international flights operated mostly by SkyTeam alliance.<br />
<br />
Domodedovo is a high-class modern airport with a single spacious terminal. It serves both domestic and international flights by most Russian and international companies, so you'd be better off choosing flights bound for it.<br />
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Vnukovo is a smaller airport and is generally operated by low-cost airlines. As of March 2012, it undergoes a major renovation with a construction of a new spacious terminal building.<br />
There are airports in all large cities in Russia. Some international service can be found in: [[Novosibirsk]], [[Sochi]], [[Vladivostok]], [[Kaliningrad]], [[Ekaterinburg]]. International service to other destinations is much more limited.<br />
<br />
Local airlines are listed in [[Russia#By plane 2|Get around]].<br />
<br />
Low-cost air-lines from Europe:<br />
<br />
From '''Austria''':<br />
* '''NIKI''' [http://flyniki.co.uk/home.php?lang=eng] flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport[http://wikimapia.org/#lat=55.409625&amp;lon=37.905407&amp;z=13&amp;l=0&amp;m=a&amp;v=2]) from Vienna (Vienna International Airport). Approximate one-way price — €99.<br />
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From '''Germany''':<br />
<br />
* '''Air Berlin''' [http://airberlin.com/site/index.php?page=start.php&amp;LANG=eng&amp;all=1] flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Berlin (Berlin Tegel), Duesseldorf (Düsseldorf International), Munich (Franz Josef Strauss Airport) and Stuttgart (Stuttgart Airport). There is also a connection from Berlin (Berlin Tegel) to Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport). Approximate one-way price — €110<br />
<br />
* '''Germanwings''' [http://germanwings.com] flies to Moscow (Vnukovo International Airport) from Berlin (Berlin Schönefeld), Cologne (Köln Bonn Airport), Hamburg (Hamburg Airport) and Stuttgart (Stuttgart Airport). There are also connections from Berlin (Berlin Schönefeld) and Cologne (Köln Bonn Airport) to Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport). Approximate one-way price — US$100.<br />
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From '''Greece''':<br />
<br />
* '''Aegean Airlines''' [http://el.aegeanair.com] flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Athens (Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport) [http://www.aia.gr/] from 155€ return ticket, Thessaloniki (Macedonia Airport) [http://www.airport-thessaloniki.com/] from 177€ return ticket.<br />
<br />
* '''Astra Airlines''': [http://www.astra-airlines.gr/frontend/index.php] flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport), Novosibirsk (Tolmachevo Airport), Omsk, Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport), from Thessaloniki (Macedonia Airport) [http://www.thessalonikiairport.gr/]<br />
<br />
From '''Italy''':<br />
<br />
* '''Evolavia''' [http://evolavia.com] flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Ancona (Raffaello Sanzio Airport) on Wednesday. Approximate one-way price — €140.<br />
* '''Wind jet''' [http://volawindjet.it] flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Catania (Fontanarossa International Airport), Forlì (L. Ridolfi), Palermo and Verona. Approximate one-way price — €90.<br />
<br />
From '''Norway''':<br />
<br />
* '''Norwegian''' [http://norwegian.no/] flies to Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport[http://wikimapia.org/#lat=59.80128&amp;lon=30.265532&amp;z=13&amp;l=0&amp;m=a&amp;v=2]) from Oslo (Oslo Airport). Approximate one-way price — €94.<br />
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From '''Spain''':<br />
<br />
* '''clickair''' [http://clickair.com] flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Barcelona (Barcelona Airport). Approximate one-way price — €179.<br />
* '''vueling''' [http://vueling.com] also files to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Barcelona (Barcelona Airport). One-way fare €110-€180 if booked in advance.<br />
<br />
Cheaper ways to get to Moscow from the Middle East, India, South-East Asia and Australia:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
From/via '''United Arab Emirates'''<br />
*'''Emirates''' [http://flyemirates.com] flies from [[Dubai]] to Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow and to Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg (starting November 1 2011). New jets, high quality, a little pricey but sometimes they have really cheap sales. A good option to connect if flying from India, South-East Asia or Australia.<br />
*'''Etihad''' [http://etihadairways.com] flies from [[Abu Dhabi]] to Domodedovo International Airport. Relatively new player on the highly competitive market of Europe to Asia/Australia connections. Offers one-way fares which are just slightly more expensive than a half of the return fare (also, return price generally does not become higher in case of a longer stay up to 1 year), the strategy otherwise employed almost exclusively by low-cost airlines. Offers very competitive rates also, especially for the connecting flights.<br />
<br />
From/via '''Qatar'''<br />
<br />
[[Image:Krasnoyarsk railway station.jpg|thumb|350px|Typical neoclassical grandiosity at the Krasnoyarsk Railway Station]]<br />
<br />
*'''Qatar Airways''' [http://qatarairways.com], another player on the Middle Eastern intercontinental connections market, files from [[Doha]] to Domodedovo International] airport. One of just 5 airlines of the world rated by Skytrax as 5-star. Nevertheless, connecting airfares from Asia are often quite modest.<br />
<br />
All airports are now conveniently connected to Moscow with Aeroexpress trains which depart every 30 minutes from/to Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo, and every hour from Vnukovo. They operate from 6:00 till midnight. The fare is 320 RUR (March 2012), travel time is 35 minutes to/from Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo, and 45 minutes to/from Domodedovo. There are no trains or buses that connect the airports without passing through central Moscow. In Sheremetyevo, Aeroexpress trains arrive at Terminal E and F, Terminal D is in 5 minutes walk from them through a gallery. Terminals B and C are served by buses only. There is a shuttle bus available between Terminals D,E,F and Terminals B,C. Using taxi is discouraged, as traveling to/between the airports is very expensive (averages at 1500 RUR from Moscow).<br />
<br />
===By train===<br />
<br />
Russian Railways [http://eng.rzd.ru/statice/public/rzdeng?STRUCTURE_ID=4068| RZhD] (РЖД) runs reliable services across dizzying distances. Eastern and Central Europe are well connected to [[Moscow]] and to a lesser extent [[Saint Petersburg]]. Moscow is also connected to some surprising destinations throughout Western Europe and Asia.<br />
<br />
Except for the swish new carriages that run from Moscow to [[Nice]] and [[Paris]], the international trains generally offer the same quality of compartment as the domestic trains (see [[Russia#By train 2|Get around: By train]]).<br />
<br />
The Russian word for railway station (Vokzal, Вокзал) is somehow related to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, a XIX century [[London]] attraction. Toilets in the vokzal are free if you have a ticket for an upcoming train (unlike in Vauxhall).<br />
<br />
====Europe====<br />
<br />
[[Belarus]], [[Moldova]] and [[Ukraine]] are very well connected to Russia with many trains daily from cities throughout each country. [[Helsinki]] ([[Finland]]) has four high speed trains daily to [[St Petersburg]] and one overnight train to [[Moscow]]. [[Riga]] ([[Latvia]]), [[Vilnius]] ([[Lithuania]]) and [[Tallinn]] ([[Estonia]]) each have at least one overnight or daytime train to [[Moscow]] and [[St Petersburg]].<br />
<br />
[[Kaliningrad]] has a short train connection to [[Gdynia]] in [[Poland]] and the trains from [[Kaliningrad]] to Moscow and St Petersburg pass through [[Vilnius]] in the afternoon.<br />
<br />
Beyond Russia's immediate neighbours and former Soviet dominions, direct trains connect Moscow with [[Austria]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Croatia]], [[Czech Republic]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Hungary]], [[Italy]], [[Montenegro]], [[Netherlands]], [[Poland]], [[Romania]], [[Serbia]], [[Slovakia]], and [[Switzerland]].<br />
<br />
Start your [[Trans Siberian]] adventure in [[Berlin]] and take '''The Sibirjak''', which connects [[Berlin]] directly to a baffling array of cities deep inside Russia: [[Adler]], [[Kazan]], [[Omsk]], [[Novosibirsk]], [[Samara]], [[Sochi]], [[St Petersburg]], [[Ufa]], [[Yekaterinburg]] and even [[Astana]] in [[Kazakhstan]]!<br />
<br />
Western European has a different track gauge from Russia, Finland and the CIS so bogies must be exchanged when the train crosses into the ex-Soviet countries (usually [[Ukraine]] or [[Belarus]]). This adds a couple of hours to the long wait already encountered for immigration. You can stay on the train as the wheels are being changed so it won't disrupt your sleep too much.<br />
<br />
====Asia====<br />
<br />
Moscow is connected to all the former Soviet [[Central Asia| Central Asian]] countries: ([[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], &amp; [[Uzbekistan]]) ''at least'' 2-3 times per week. Journeys are long (3.5-5 days). To the [[Caucasus]], there is a service from [[Moscow]] to [[Baku]], [[Azerbaijan]] (3 days); however, the Azerbaijan-Russia border is only open to CIS passport holders. There is also a service from [[Moscow]] to [[Sukhumi]] in the disputed territory of [[Abkhazia]]. The [[Trans-Siberian Railway]] spans the entire country and connects with Chinese cities such as [[Beijing]] and [[Harbin]], as well as [[Mongolia|Mongolia's]] [[Ulaanbaatar]]. There is also a ''very'' infrequent service from [[Moscow]] to [[Pyongyang]], [[North Korea]] (essentially the Trans-Siberian plus a short link from Vladivostok to Pyongyang) but this line isn't open to Western tourists.<br />
<br />
===By car===<br />
Traveling in Russia by car can be difficult. Roads may be poorly marked, if marked at all, and poorly maintained, especially outside the cities and towns. Car rental services are only starting to develop in major cities such as Moscow or Saint Petersburg, and are expensive. <br />
<br />
Crossing the border by car is a peculiar entertainment.<br />
<br />
There is no doubt that car travel is the best way to see the country, but it is a risky enterprise which is recommended only for the brave and capable.<br />
<br />
Russian highways have highway patrol police (GAI) roadblock every 20 km or so. If you have an international license plate, prepare to pay a bribe ($5-$20) in some of the most corrupt regions (e.g., in the Caucasus). Russian traffic rules are very numerous and you will be found violating some of them. If you decide not to pay, at best you should expect to spend several hours at every road block.<br />
<br />
Service is scarce and poor, and the countryside can be quite dangerous without experience and fluency in the Russian language.<br />
<br />
It is possible to travel safely by car in Russia using a private licensed guide. Traveling independently is not recommended, especially for the non-Russian speaker. Guides generally provide their own cars or vans and know the roads, the customs and the countryside making seeing small towns and historic sites possible.<br />
<br />
===By bus===<br />
[[Image:Sochiseaport.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Sochi]]'s Seaport]]<br />
<br />
A few bus companies, most notably Eurolines, operate international coach services from a number of destinations to [[Moscow]] and [[Saint Petersburg]]. [[Tallinn]], [[Helsinki]], [[Riga]], [[Vilnius]], [[Warsaw]] and [[Berlin]] all have regular services to Russia.<br />
<br />
===By boat===<br />
<br />
Ferry services operate in the summer between [[Sochi]] and [[Turkey|Turkey's]] [[Trabzon]]. In [[Vladivostok]] there is a scheduled ro-ro ferry to [[Busan]] and numerous lines to the different [[Japan]]ese ports, however they are mostly oriented to the used Japanese car imports and less to tourism, there is also a [[Russia to Japan via Sakhalin|weekly service]] in summer between [[Korsakov]] on [[Sakhalin]] and [[Wakkanai]] on the Japanese island [[Hokkaido]]. Cruise ships are also call to Russian ports frequently. There is a boat connection from [[Lappeenranta]], [[Finland]] to [[Vyborg]]. There is now daily (overnight) service between Helsinki and St. Petersburg on St. Peter Line that does not require a visa for stays less than 3 days.<br />
<br />
===By bicycle===<br />
<br />
International cycling routes ''Eurovelo'' are two and include EV2 ''Capitals Route'' (from Ireland to Moscow) and EV10 ''Baltic Sea Cycle Route (Hansa circuit)'' interconnecting Saint-Petersburg with Estonia and Finland.<br />
<br />
==Get around==<br />
<br />
===By train===<br />
<br />
Due to the immense size of the country, and the poor road safety, the best way to get around through the entire country quickly is by train. Russia has an extensive rail network linking nearly every city and town. For intercity travel, the train is generally the most convenient option for trips that can be covered overnight. Although accommodations may not be the best, Russian trains have efficient and courteous staff as well as timely departures and arrivals that would impress even a German. The train is an option for longer trips (many Russians continue to use it for trips of 2 days or more), but mainly if you appreciate the nuances and experience of train travel in Russia. For the complete Russian rail experience, the one-week [[Trans-Siberian Railway]] has no equal.<br />
<br />
Russian trains are divided into types: Long-distance (дальнего следования ''DAHL'nyehvuh SLEHduhvahnyah'') trains generally cover trips more than about 4 hours or 200 kilometers (120 miles). Take a look at the Russian long-distance rail timetable.[http://eng.rzd.ru/wps/portal/rzdeng/express?STRUCTURE_ID=46] <br />
[http://timetable.tsi.ru] [http://www.poezda.net/en/index] [http://rzd.nnov-airport.ru/] Shorter distances are covered by the commuter trains (пригородные ''PREEguhruhdnyyeh''), which are popularly called электрички ''ehlehkTREECHkee''. Most train stations (железнодорожный вокзал ''zhehlyehznohdohROHZHny vohgZAHL'') have separate areas for selling tickets for these types.<br />
<br />
<br />
====Transportation of bicycle====<br />
Transportation of a bicycle in a carriage is permissble for one ticket under condition of being compactly folded/dismantled and clean. Usually the bike is taken off its wheels and pedals, put into a bag and stored on the upmost shelf in the Platzkart carriage. The other class carriages have less space or shelves and the bike should be more compact.<br />
<br />
====Sleeper cars====<br />
[[Image:Trans Sibir.JPG|thumb|350px|Winter travel on the famous [[Trans-Siberian Railway]] ]]<br />
<br />
<br />
Almost all long-distance trains are set up for overnight travel. There are several classes of accommodation:<br />
<br />
* '''Deluxe – myagkiy''' (мягкий) – with private compartments for two adults and a child, with a private toilet and shower. Few trains have this posh class.<br />
* '''1st class – spalnyy/lyuks''' (спальный/люкс) – with private compartments for two people. Most trains connecting major cities have a car of this class; tickets are quite expensive in comparison with European standards. Colloquially this class is commonly referred to as SV (es-veh, СВ).<br />
* '''2nd class – kupe''' (купе) – with private compartments of four people. On some trains, compartments may be marked as male, female, or mixed-sex by the ticketing system.<br />
* '''3rd class – platskart''' (плацкарт) – with unwalled compartments of four fold out beds opposite two beds on the window wall. There is controversy on safety of these compartments. For some these compartments are generally less safe than other classes as they allow uncontrolled access. Others point out that in an open car full of witnesses the chances of becoming a victim of a crime or harassment are less. Anyway, they provide for a much more immersive experience.<br />
* '''Sitting class – sidyachiy''' (сидячий) – sitting cars for shorter distance, with seat reservation. These are mostly met on slower regional trains.<br />
<br />
Every car has its own attendant/conductor (''provodnik'' or ''provodnitsa''), which check your tickets at your boarding, provides you bedding, sells you tea or snacks and can lend you a mug and spoon for about 10 rubles. Do not be afraid, if the conductor takes your tickets, he gives it back at your destination station. At corridor you find a samovar with free hot water for making tea or soup. Most long-distance trains have dining cars.<br />
<br />
Bottom-bunk berths (''nizhnie'' – нижние) are slightly more comfortable than top-bunk berths (''verhnie'' – верхние), because they have more place for baggage under them. There are also discounts sometime for top-bunk berths only (usually not in the tourist season and not in popular directions, which are from largest towns on Friday nights, and back on Sunday nights).<br />
<br />
====Train classes====<br />
<br />
Trains are classified according to their average speed:<br />
<br />
* '''skorostnoy''' (скоростной, numbered 151 to 168) – the fastest trains (seating only);<br />
* '''uskorennyy''' (ускоренный, numbered 171 to 198 and 800 to 898) – the fast trains (some with seating only, some with overnight accommodation);<br />
* '''skoryy''' (скорый, numbered 1 to 148 round-the-year and 201 to 298 seasonal) – rapid trains with overnight accommodation;<br />
* '''passazhirskiy''' (пассажирский, numbered 301 to 598) – slower trains with more frequent stops;<br />
* '''mestnyy''' (местный, numbered 601 to 698) – the slowest trains serving all the localities along the railways;<br />
* '''pochtovo-bagazhnyy'''/'''gruzopassazhyrskiy''' (почтово-багажный/грузопассажирский, numbered 901 to 998) – mainly used to deliver post and bulky baggage or goods but also offering passenger capacity to persons accompanying these items;<br />
* '''prigorodnyy'''/'''elektropoyezd''' (пригородный/электропоезд, numbered 6001 to 6998) – suburban trains mostly serving commuters in cities.<br />
<br />
According to their standards of service, some trains are promoted to '''firmennyy''' (фирменный) and given a proper brand. The most distinguished trains use their special liveries.<br />
<br />
====Tickets====<br />
<br />
[[Image:Russian_train_ticket.jpg|250px|thumb|Russian train ticket with fields description]]<br />
<br />
Because virtually all long-distance trains are overnight, the long-distance tickets are bound to specified train. At Russian counter or travel agencies you'll get a reservation automatically, but if you buy an international ticket from some European non-CIS country, you should ask for reservation explicitly.<br />
<br />
Ticket price depends on train class and car class, as well as on season (off-peak day tickets can cost 2/3 of peak day tickets). You can check the ticket price at Russian language version of Nnov-airport.ru [http://rzd.nnov-airport.ru/], Poezda.net [http://poezda.net] or Russian Railways e-shop [http://ticket.rzd.ru] (only in Russian too).<br />
<br />
Most stations have a large room called a ''KASsovyi Zal'' (кассовый зал) where tickets are sold. Lines vary widely – some stations are much better organized than others nowadays, and it also depends on the season. If you find the lines unbearably long, it's usually not hard to find an agency that sells train tickets. Commission rates are generally not prohibitive. For instance, buying your ticket to Saint Petersburg from Moscow, it is much better to walk a flight of steps from the ordinary ticketing office – there are no queues upstairs and R140 is a small premium to pay for this service.<br />
<br />
Alternatively you can buy an e-ticket online on Russian Railways website [http://ticket.rzd.ru/]. However it's only in Russian. You should take the printed e-ticket at station counter before boarding and pick up a regular ticket.<br />
<br />
Stations in big cities now have ticket machines with interface in both Russian and English. You can either buy a ticket or print the ticket you previously bought on the site. To print a ticket, you can either enter the booking code or scan the bar code from the electronic reservation. These machines don't accept cash, only debit/credit cards.<br />
<br />
There are many agencies selling Russian train tickets abroad – RealRussia [http://www.realrussia.co.uk], RussianTrains [http://russiantrains.com] or RussianTrain [http://russiantrain.com]. They have English-language website and can deliver the ticket by post to your home address, but prices are 30-50% higher.<br />
<br />
Generally, buying tickets from Russia to any other CIS country is same as for domestic routes, because all CIS railway companies share a common reservation system. This does not apply for ticket from abroad to Russia – you have to buy the ticket at railway company of the departure country.<br />
<br />
====Travel tips====<br />
<br />
Travel time can vary from several hours to several days. Note that there are more types of train between the two capitals than between any other two cities in Russia. Apart from ordinary trains, there are rapid trains (''Sapsan'') that run by day only and cover the 650 km between Moscow and Saint Petersburg in 4 hours. Some of the overnight trains are quite luxurious — these include the traditional ''The Red Arrow'' service and the newer, fake-Czarist-era ''Nikolaevsky Express'', complete with attendants in 19-century uniforms. Sheets, towels and prepacked breakfasts are included in all the better trains. Shared bathroom facilities are located at the end of the train car. There are special hatches that one may use to secure the door of the compartment from the inside during the night.<br />
<br />
Moscow-Saint Petersburg Express Train takes 5 hours of travel and costs 2400 rubles. Trains are only slightly air conditioned. No one in the Moscow train station speaks any English, so if you are not familiar enough with Russian to purchase your train ticket in person, it is suggested that you purchase online or through your hotel concierge or travel agent before you depart. Also, note that all signage inside the train station is in Russian only, so finding your correct platform can be challenging. The dining car of the express train is nicely appointed with real table linens, and an impressive menu and wine list, but is 3 to 4 times more expensive than eating in the city before and after you travel.<br />
<br />
[[Image:Lipetsk bus stop.jpg|thumb|270px|Bus stop in [[Lipetsk]] ]]<br />
<br />
Trains stop at stations for long time, about 15-20 minutes. Check the timetable placed on door at the end of corridor. During stop you can buy various meals and drinks at platform from locals for pretty reasonable prices. Frequently, traders will walk through the cars between stops and sell everything from crockery to clothes to Lay's chips.<br />
<br />
The commuter trains are mostly hard-seat train cars. You don't get a designated seat number — you just find space on a bench. These trains have a notorious reputation for being overcrowded, though this has declined somewhat. The trains make very frequent stops and are rather slow. For example, a 200 km trip to Vladimir takes about 3 h 30 min . They do (!) have toilets in the first and the last cars but it is going to be an unforgettable experience (use them in &quot;emergency&quot; cases only).<br />
<br />
Tickets for commuter trains are sold in a separate room from the long-distance trains, and are sometimes sold from stalls located outside.<br />
<br />
A few very popular routes, mostly between Moscow and nearby cities such as Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Tula, and others have an express commuter train that is considerably more comfortable. Your ticket will have a designated seat number and the seats are reasonably comfortable. The trains travel to their destination directly and are thus considerably faster.<br />
<br />
Note that all long-distance trains in Russia run on Moscow time (which may be up to 9 hours off local time in the Far East).<br />
<br />
===By bus===<br />
<br />
Most Russian cities have bus links to cities as far as 5-6 hours away or further. Though generally less comfortable than the train, buses sometimes are a better option time-wise and are worth looking into if the train timetables don't suit you. A small number of cities, notably [[Suzdal]], are not served by train, and thus bus is the only option besides a car.<br />
<br />
The Russian word for bus station is Avtovokzal (Ahv-tuh-vahg-ZAHL). Most cities have just one for long distance buses and the state buses depart from there. However, in Moscow and in some other Russian cities, a number of commercial buses are available, and they generally don't depart from the bus station. Quite often, you'll see commercial buses near train stations. Sometimes they run on schedules, though for popular routes (such as Moscow-Vladimir, Moscow/Yaroslavl, etc.) the buses simply wait to fill up. On these buses payment is usually to the driver.<br />
<br />
Russian buses have luggage storage, but if it's an old Eastern-bloc bus, you may find your luggage wet at the end of the trip.<br />
<br />
Apart from regular buses there are private minibuses called ''marshrutka'' (маршрутка). Marshrutkas have fixed routes, but usually no timetables and no regular stations. Stop at the roadside and wave a hand, if you are lucky and the minibus isn't full, it will stop. You can arrange with the driver to stop you at desired place on his route. At more frequent stops the driver waits until his minibus will fill up. There are no tickets, you pay directly to the driver.<br />
Marshrutkas ride both on countryside (in this case they likely to have timetables) and as city transport – in cities usually have number plates as regular buses.<br />
<br />
===By plane===<br />
<br />
The tremendous distances of Russia make plane travel highly desirable if you plan to travel to some of Russia's more far-flung attractions. It's worth considering for any destination that is farther than an overnight train ride. Travelling across Russia by train can sound awfully romantic, but it's also time-consuming and rather monotonous. Nearly every major destination of interest has an airport nearby. The great majority of domestic flights are to/from Moscow, but other services exist.<br />
<br />
The Russian domestic airline industry had an abominable reputation in the 90s due to uncertain safety records, unreliable timetables, terrible service, uncomfortable airplanes, and substandard airports. Substantial improvements have been made, however. Plane travel in Russia is unlikely to be the highlight of your trip but it has become tolerable.<br />
<br />
*'''Aeroflot''' [http://aeroflot.ru/eng/default.aspx?language=en] based at Sheremetyevo airport [http://svo.aero/], Moscow, is Russia's national airline for local Russian and CIS flights and international flights to worldwide cities (Germany, South Korea, US, etc.). Flights from St. Petersburg back into Moscow run only $57 USD (May 2009) and makes this less expensive and less time consuming than taking the train. Since December 2010 Aeroflot operates both domestic and international flights from the new Terminal D located next to the old international terminal (now Terminal F) serving non-Aeroflot international departures. Many international flights and most internal ones are operated by Boeing and Airbus aircraft, only a few soviet era aircraft are left.<br />
<br />
*'''Transaero''' [http://transaero.ru/en/index.html], based at the second biggest in Moscow area Domodedovo airport [http://domodedovo.ru/index_en.asp]. , Moscow (across the city from Sheremetyevo) is an independent airline with Boeing aircraft which operates to major cities in Russia and the CIS, and to a few western destinations.<br />
<br />
*'''S7 airlines''' (ex-Siberia or Sibir Airlines) [http://s7.ru/en/index.html] Russia's largest domestic carrier with international service to many cities in Germany, China and ex-Soviet republics.<br />
<br />
*'''Rossiya Airlines''' [http://www.rossiya-airlines.com/en/] has a substantial network based at St Petersburg Pulkovo airport [http://pulkovoairport.ru/eng/] to both major cities in Russia, and to western Europe.<br />
<br />
*'''UTair''' [http://utair.ru/en/] operates the largest aircraft fleet in Russia and ranks among the top five largest Russian carriers by passenger volume. UTair is the Russian market leader in helicopter services and is the world's fourth largest helicopter service provider by volume of international operations.<br />
<br />
*'''Yakutia Airlines''' [http://www.yakutia.aero/en/index.php] is Siberian/Far Eastern air carrier having extensive flight network around Siberia and abroad.<br />
<br />
[[Image:Naryan-Mar reindeer.jpg|thumb|350px|Getting around via reindeer sledge in [[Nenetsia]] ]]<br />
<br />
Many of these airlines (apart from Transaero, which started as an independent operation) were formed out of the onetime-Aeroflot operation at their home city from Soviet times when the old Aeroflot was broken up.<br />
<br />
In March 2009, Rosaviation (federal aviation regulator) has published stats on average delays of departure in 2008, broken down by domestic airline:<br />
* maximal delays in departure are reported for: Alrosa Avia (40% flights were delayed for 2 hours or more), Moskoviya (17%), Dagestan Airlines (16%), Red Wings (14%), SkyExpress (13%), VIM-Avia (12%), Yakutia (10%)<br />
* minimal delays are reported for: Aeroflot-Russian airlines, S7/Sibir, Rossia, UTair and UTair-Express, Aeroflot-Nord, Aeroflot-Don, Kuban Airlines, Yamal, Saratov Airlines, Transaero, Tatarstan.<br />
<br />
===By boat===<br />
In the summer cruise boats are frequent on the rivers in European Russia and interconnect [[Kazan]] with [[Volgograd]], Moscow with Saint-Petersburg and [[Astrakhan]] while journeys across the Volga cities being the most popular ones. Lakes Ladoga and Onega in the Northern Russia are also operated by cruise companies.<br />
<br />
===By thumb===<br />
Russia has a very lively [[hitchhiking]] culture, with many hitchhiking clubs, there is even an Academy of Hitchhiking. There are many competitions. Despite horror stories about bad things happening in Russia, it is relatively safe to hitchhike, especially in the countryside. In some regions Russians expect a little bit of money for a ride.<br />
<br />
==Talk==<br />
<br />
[[Russian phrasebook|Russian]] is the lingua franca: across Russia, you'll find people who speak it. Russians are proud of their culturally diverse language. The language is a member of the Slavic language family, with the minor exception being that it is further sub-classified into the East Slavic family, thus being closely related to Ukrainian and Belarusian. Although related to other Slavic languages such as Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, to name a few, they are not mutually intelligible, but still share a slight similarity. Russian is considered one of the most difficult languages for an English speaker to learn, mostly because of a very complicated grammar. However, it is less difficult to learn than its other language neighbors, Ukrainian and Belarusian. You will not learn the language in a short time; concentrate on learning some key [[Russian phrasebook|&quot;courtesy&quot; phrases]], and the Cyrillic alphabet (e.g. &quot;ресторан&quot; spells &quot;restoran&quot; in the Roman alphabet, which means &quot;restaurant&quot;) so you have a chance to recognize street names, labels and public signs.<br />
<br />
Learning Russian is quite hard going, despite Russian sharing an ancestral Indo-European root language with English. The script, Cyrillic, uses many letters of the Latin alphabet but assigns many of them different sounds. The language employs three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), six grammatical cases, and free-fall stress, all of which conspire to make it a difficult prospect for the native English speaker. <br />
<br />
[[Image:Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra.jpg|thumb|340px|Trinity Monastery in [[Sergiev Posad]]—the spiritual home of the Russian Orthodox Church]]<br />
<br />
English is becoming a requirement in the business world, and many younger Russians in the cities (particularly Moscow or St. Petersburg but also elsewhere) know enough English to communicate. Elsewhere English is generally nonexistent, so take a phrase book and be prepared for slow communication with a lot of interpretive gestures.<br />
<br />
Russia has hundreds of languages and claims to support most of them. Soviet linguists documented them in the first few decades of the USSR and made sure they were given Cyrillic writing systems (except Karelian, Veps, Ingrian, Votic and Ter Sami). Some were made local co-official languages. Southern Russia is lined with Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic language; the northern with Finnic and Samoyed tounges. The southwest corner has a variety of Caucasian languages; the northeast has a few Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages. However, a smattering of Russian is will greatly aid travellers no matter where they are.<br />
<br />
The Russian Orthodox religion is one of the oldest branches of Christianity in the world and continues to have a very large following, despite having been repressed during the communist period. The language spoken in Russian Orthodox church services is ''Old Church Slavonic'', which differs considerably from modern Russian.<br />
<br />
Russia hosts several cultural and educational centers of German, French, English, Spanish, Japanese and other foreign languages. <br />
<br />
*French centers belong to Alliance Francaise [http://afrus.ru/fr] and are located in [[Yekaterinburg]], [[Irkutsk]], [[Kazan]], [[Nizhny Novgorod]], [[Novosibirsk]], [[Perm]], [[Rostov-on-the-Don]], [[Samara]], [[Saratov]], [[Tolyatti]], [[Vladivostok]]. <br />
<br />
*German is taught at Sprachlernzentern[http://www.goethe.de/ins/ru/lp/prj/slz/deindex.htm] in [[Barnaul]], [[Yaroslavl]], [[Yekaterinburg]], [[Kaliningrad]], [[Kemerovo]], [[Krasnoyarsk]], [[Nizhny Novgorod]], [[Novosibirsk]], [[Omsk]], [[Samara]], [[Sergiev Posad]], [[Tolyatti]], [[Tomsk]], [[Vladimir]], [[Volgograd]], [[Volzhsky]]. <br />
<br />
*IELTS schools are numerous and one can find them in all big and small cities, the number of accredited exams centers, however is shorter but enough[http://www.ielts-russia.ru/].<br />
<br />
*The official centers of Japanese language include [[Khabarovsk]], [[Vladivostok]], [[Nizhny Novgorod]], [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Moscow]]. <br />
<br />
*Institute of Cervantes is open in [[Moscow]].[http://moscu.cervantes.es]<br />
<br />
==See==<br />
<br />
Russia is immense, and extraordinarily long on attractions for visitors, although many lie in the hard-to-reach stretches of the planet's most remote lands. The best known sights are in and around the nation's principal cities of [[Moscow]] and [[Saint Petersburg]].<br />
<br />
===Historical attractions===<br />
[[Image:Derbent fortress.jpg|thumb|300px|Fortress at Derbent]]<br />
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Russia's history is the number one reason why tourists come to this country, following the draw of its fascinating, sometimes surreal, oftentimes brutal, and always consequential national saga.<br />
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====Early history====<br />
[[Derbent]], in the Caucasian Republic of [[Dagestan]], is Russia's most '''ancient city''', dating back 5,000 years. Home to the legendary Gates of Alexander, the walled fortress-city, alternately controlled by Caucasian Albania, Persian empires, and the Mongols (until its eighteenth century conquest by the Russian Empire) was for 1500 years the key to controlling trade between Western Russia and the Middle East. Other ancient peoples of Russia left less evidence of their civilization, but you can find traces of the Kurgan people of the [[Urals]], in particular the ruined pagan shrines and burial mounds around the old capital of [[Tobolsk]] and throughout the Republic of [[Khakassia]].<br />
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Of '''early Russia''''s city states, one of the best preserved and most interesting include [[Staraya Ladoga]], regarded as the nation's first capital, established by the viking Rurik, to whom the first line of Tsars traced their lineage. [[Novgorod]], founded in 859, was the most important city of Kievan Rus in modern Russia (with [[Kiev]] itself in modern day [[Ukraine]]), and home to Russia's first kremlin.<br />
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'''Early Medieval Russia''' saw two major civilizations, that of the independent Novgorod Republic and the Mongol Empire, which dominated the Russian principalities of former Vladimir-Suzdal (whose initial capital of [[Vladimir]] retains an excellent collection of twelfth century monuments and kremlin) and Kievan Rus. While the Mongols left mostly devastation of historical sites in their wake, the wealthy trading nation to the north developed grand cities at the capital of Novgorod, as well as Staraya Ladoga, [[Pskov]], and Oreshek (modern day [[Shlisselburg]]), all of which have extant medieval kremlins and a multitude of beautiful early Russian Orthodox churches filled with medieval ecclesiastical frescoes.<br />
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As Mongol power waned, the '''Grand Duchy of Moscow''' rose to power, and particularly under the later reign of Ivan the Terrible, consolidated power in all of Western Russia, including the conquest of the [[Kazan]] Khanate (and establishing another grand citadel there) and concentrated power in [[Moscow]], building its kremlin, St Basil's Cathedral, and several other of Russia's best known historical sites. The cities of the [[Golden Ring]] surrounding Moscow likewise saw significant construction during this period. A really neat off-the-beaten-path destination also rose to prominence in the extreme north of the country—the [[Solovetsky Islands|Solovetsky Monastery]]-fortress on the islands of the White Sea, which served as a bulwark against Swedish naval incursions.<br />
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====Imperial history====<br />
[[Image:PeterhofGrandCascade.JPG|thumb|300px|The Grand Cascade in [[Peterhof]] ]]<br />
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Ivan the Terrible's reign ended in tragedy, the Time of Troubles, which only saw destruction and ruin, and you will find little evidence of civilizational development until the establishment of the '''Romanov Dynasty''' in the early seventeenth century. Peter the Great, after having consolidated power, began the construction of his entirely new city of [[Saint Petersburg]] on the Gulf of Finland, the ''Window to the West''. Saint Petersburg from its foundation through the neoclassical period became one of the world's most magically beautiful cities, and the list of must-see attractions is far too long to be discussed here. The surrounding summer palaces at [[Peterhof]], [[Pavlovsk]], and [[Pushkin]] are also unbelievably opulent attractions.<br />
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The '''Russian Revolution''' was one of the twentieth century's defining moments, and history buffs will find much to see in Saint Petersburg. The two best known sites are found at the Winter Palace, which the communists stormed to depose Tsar Nicolas II, and the beautiful Peter and Paul Fortress on the Neva River, which housed numerous revolutionary luminaries in its cold, hopeless prison. For those interested in the grisly end of the Romanov family of Nicholas II, perhaps inspired by the story of Anastasia, look no further than the Church on the Blood in [[Yekaterinburg]], built on the spot of his family's execution. [[Moscow]], on the other hand, has the most famous monument from the revolutionary period—Lenin's himself, with his embalmed body on display in Red Square.<br />
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====Soviet history====<br />
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The '''Soviet Era''' saw a drastic change in Russian history, and the development of a virtually brand new civilization. Mass industrialization programs came with a new aesthetic ethos which emphasized functionality (combined with grandiosity). The enormous constructivist buildings and statues of the twentieth century are often derided as ugly monstrosities, but they are hardly boring (whereas the industrial complexes polluting cities from the Belarussian border to the Pacific are genuine eyesores).<br />
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Both '''World War II''' and Stalin's reign of terror made their presence felt greatly upon Russia's cultural heritage. The bombings involved in the former virtually wiped out anything of historical interest in Russia's extreme west (the [[Chernozemye]] region) and damaged much more throughout European Russia. It did, however, lead to the construction of monuments to the war throughout the entire country. For military buffs, a visit to Mamaev Kurgan, the museum complex at [[Volgograd]] (former Stalingrad) is an excellent destination. [[Kursk]], for its enormous tank battle, and [[Saint Petersburg]], site of the Siege of Leningrad, make interesting destinations.<br />
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[[Image:Mamayev Kurgan, The Motherland Calls.jpeg|thumb|300px|The Motherland Calls, looming over the Battlefield of Stalingrad, atop [[Volgograd#See|Mamayev Kurgan]] ]]<br />
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Maybe the saddest of the Soviet legacies is the network of prison camps known as the '''Gulag Archipelago'''. The term ''Archipelago'' really does not capture the scope of suffering across 10,000 kilometers of cold steppe. Perhaps the most interesting sites for those interested in this legacy are on the [[Solovetsky Islands]] in the White Sea, and the devastatingly bleak Kolyma gulag system of [[Magadan Oblast]]. If you were hoping to see where Alexandr Solzhenitsyn was imprisoned, you'll have to travel beyond the Russian borders to [[Ekibastuz]] in [[Kazakhstan]].<br />
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===Cultural sights===<br />
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Russia has several of the world's greatest '''museums''', particularly in the field of the '''visual arts'''. The '''Hermitage Museum''' in [[Saint Petersburg]] is the true star, with an enormous collection amassed first by the wealthy tsars (particularly by its founder, Catherine the Great) and later by the Soviets and the Red Army (which seized enormous treasure from the Nazis, who in turn had seized their bounty from their wars around the globe). Equally impressive is the edifice housing the collection on display, the magnificent Winter Palace of the Romanov Dynasty. Saint Petersburg's often overlooked Russian Museum should also be a priority, as it has the country's second best collection of purely Russian art, from icons of the tenth century on through the modern movements, in all of which revolutionary Russia led the charge ahead of the rest of the world. [[Moscow]]'s art museums, only slightly less well known, include the '''Tretyakov Gallery''' (the premiere collection of Russian art) and the Pushkin Museum of Western Art.<br />
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Other museum exhibitions certainly worth seeking out are the collections of '''antiquities''' in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, particularly at the Hermitage Museum, and the Armory in the Moscow Kremlin. For military buffs, Russian '''military museums''' are often fantastic, truly best-in-the-world, regardless of whether you are at one of the main ones in the Moscow—the Central Armed Forces Museum, Kubinka Tank Museum, Central Air Force Museum, Museum of the Great Patriotic War (WWII), or way off in the provinces. The other category in which Russian museums outshine the rest of the world would be within the '''literary''' and '''musical''' spheres. Nary a town visited, if only for a day, by Alexander Pushkin is without some small museum dedicated to his life and works. The best of the big city museums include the Bulgakov Museum in Moscow and the Anna Akhmatova, Pushkin, and Dostoevsky museums in Saint Petersburg. Great adventures await in quieter parts of the country, at Dostoevsky's summer house in [[Staraya Russa]], Tolstoy's &quot;inaccessible literary stronghold&quot; at [[Yasnaya Polyana]], Chekhov's country estate at [[Melikhovo]], Tchaikovsky's house in [[Klin]] or remote hometown of [[Votkinsk]] in [[Udmurtia]], Rakhmaninov's summer home in [[Ivanovka]], Pushkin's estate at [[Pushkinskie Gory]], or Turgenev's country estate at Spasskoe-Lutovinovo near [[Mtsensk]]. The best museums are in the countryside. For classical music lovers, the apartment museums of various nineteenth and century composers in Saint Petersburg are worth more than just nostalgic wanderings—they often have small performances by incredible musicians.<br />
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[[Image:Kul Sharif Mosque.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Kazan]]'s Kul-Sharif Mosque, largest in Europe]]<br />
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All tourists in Russia find themselves looking at a lot of churches. Ecclesiastical architecture is a significant source of pride among Russians, and the onion dome is without question a preeminent national symbol. The twentieth century, sadly, saw cultural vandalism in the destruction of said architecture on an unprecedented scale. But the immense number of beautiful old monasteries and churches ensured that an enormous collection remains. The best known, as usual, are in [[Saint Petersburg]] and [[Moscow]], in particular the old baroque Church on the Spilled Blood, Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and the monumental Kazan and Saint Isaac's Cathedrals in the former, and Saint Basil's Cathedral and the massive Church of the Annunciation in the latter. The spiritual home of the Russian Orthodox Church is to be found at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in [[Sergiev Posad]] on the [[Golden Ring]] circuit (lavra is the designation given to the most important monasteries, of which there are only two in the country), although the physical headquarters of the Church is at Danilov Monastery in Moscow. [[Kirillo|Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery]] in [[Vologda Oblast]] is often considered Russia's second most important (and is a neat way to get off the beaten track). Other particularly famous churches and monasteries are to be found at Saint Sophia's Cathedral in [[Novgorod]], the Cathedral of the Assumption in [[Vladimir]], the fascinating Old Cathedral of Königsberg (home to Immanuel Kant's tomb) in [[Kaliningrad]], Novodevichy Convent in Moscow, [[Optina Putsin]] (the basis for Father Zossima's monastery in ''The Brothers Karamazov''), and [[Volokolamsk|Volokolamsk Monastery]] in [[West MOscow Oblast]]. [[Kizhi|Kizhi Pogost]] on Lake Onega and Valaam Monastery on [[Lake Ladoga]] are also popular sites, especially with those cruising between Saint Petersburg and Moscow.<br />
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Ecclesiastical architecture does not, however, end with the Russian Orthodox Church—Russia also has a wealth of Islamic and Buddhist architecture. The nation's most important mosques are the Qolşärif Mosque in [[Kazan]] (the largest mosque in Europe) and the Blue Mosque in Saint Petersburg (originally the largest mosque in Europe!). Notably absent from that list is the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, which was formerly considered the principal mosque in the country, but was very controversially demolished in 2011. Russia's most prominent Buddhist temples are in both [[Kalmykia]]—Europe's lone Buddhist republic, and the areas closer to Mongolia, especially around [[Ulan Ude]] in [[Buryatia]] and [[Kyzyl]], [[Tuva]].<br />
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===Natural attractions===<br />
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While the distances are great between them, Russia's natural wonders are impressive and worth seeking out for nature lovers. The best known destinations are far to the east in Siberia, with [[Lake Baikal]] known as its &quot;jewel.&quot; At the extreme eastern end of Russia, nearly all the way to Japan and Alaska, is wild [[Kamchatka]], where you will find the Valley of the Geisers, lakes of acid, volcanoes, and grizzlies galore.<br />
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[[Image:Sablinksky ridge, Yugyd Va National Park.jpg|thumb|320px|Yugyd Va National Park, in the [[Komi Virgin Forests]] ]]<br />
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Other highlights of the '''Far East''' include the idyllic (if kind of cold) [[Kuril Islands]] to the south of Kamchatka, whale watching off the coast of arctic [[Wrangel Island]], the remote [[Primorsky Krai|Sikhote-Alin mountain range]], home to the Amur Tiger, and beautiful [[Sakhalin]]. The nature reserves throughout these parts are spectacular as well, but all will require permits in advance and specialized tours.<br />
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The northern half of Russia stretching thousands of miles from the [[Komi Republic]] through [[Kamchatka]] is basically empty wilderness, mostly mountainous, and always beautiful. Getting to these areas is problematic, as most are not served by any roads, infrastructure, or really anything else. Russia's great north-south rivers are the main arteries for anyone moving through the area: the Pechora, Ob, Yenisey, Lena, and Kolyma. Beyond that, expect to be in canoes, helicopters, and military issue jeeps will be the only way of getting around, and you'll likely want to go with a guide.<br />
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Russia's ''other'' mountainous territory is in its extreme south, in the [[Northern Caucasus]]. There you will find Europe's tallest mountains, which tower in height over the Alps, including mighty [[Kabardino-Balkaria|Elbrus]]. Favorite Russian resorts in the area include those at [[Sochi]] (which will host the next Winter Olympic Games) and [[Dombai]]. As you go further east in the North Caucasus, the landscapes become ever more dramatic, from the lush forested gorges and snow capped peaks of [[Chechnya]] to the stark desert mountains of [[Dagestan]], sloping downwards to the Caspian Sea.<br />
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Throughout the entire country, there are over a hundred National Parks and Nature Reserves (''zapovedniki''). The former are open to the public, and considerably more wild and undeveloped than you would find in, say, the United States. The latter are preserved principally for scientific research and are often not possible to visit. Permits are issued for certain reserves, but only through licensed tour operators. If you have the opportunity, though, take it! Some of the most spectacular parks are in the aforementioned Kamchatka, but also in the Urals, particularly in the Altai Mountains ([[Altai Republic]] and [[Altai Krai]]).<br />
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===Itineraries===<br />
*[[Circum-Baikal Railway]] is the road on the shore of [[Baikal]] Lake.<br />
*[[Golden Ring]] — the classic route around ancient cities and towns in [[Central Russia]] crowned with golden cupolas of its churches and convents.<br />
*[[Green Ring of Moscow]] — Natural Parks and Reserves in Moscow vicinities.<br />
*[[Silver Ring]] — the chain of Northern towns surrounding [[Saint Petersburg]].<br />
*[[Trans-Siberian Railway]] — the endless train ride that needs no introduction.<br />
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==Do==<br />
[[Image:Mariinsky Theatre interior.jpg|thumb|280px|The lavish Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg]]<br />
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* '''Music''' — Russia has a long musical tradition and is well-known for its composers and performers. There is no doubt you will find more orchestra performances the bigger the city. Classic music is played in various theaters, where domestic and guest concerts are scheduled for weeks ahead. Besides that, the state supports folk ensembles in smaller towns or even villages and singing babushkas gatherings are still a well-established tradition in many areas. In areas traditionally inhabited by non-Russian ethnic groups, you may encounter ethnic music of every possible sound, like throat singing in [[Tuva]] or rare instruments of [[Chukotka]][http://www.ergyron.ru/]. Sometimes only specialists can differ the Cossack songs of the [[Urals]] from the Cossack songs of [[Krasnodar]]. Professional jazz players meet at ''Jazz over Volga'' festival in [[Yaroslavl]]. Walking along the main street on a Sunday will definitely enable you to hear guitar, saxophone, harmonium or flute in any city.<br />
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* '''Military Parade''' on the Victory Day, which is celebrated on the 9th of May is commonly all-Russia holiday with city squares getting full of uniformed men and military vehicles both dated to Great Patriotic War/WWII and new ones. The '''Defender of Fatherland Day''' is a holiday when women in families or at work congratulate their men and co-workers. It happens on 23, February, just a couple of weeks before men return the favor to ladies on '''International Women's Day''', 8 March.<br />
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* '''Dancing'''. Russian classic ballet is renowned in the world and some national troops exist even in such remote areas like [[Dagestan]] or [[Yakutia]]. Lezginka is a vibrant folk dance, always performed at big [[Caucasus|Caucasian]] events. If you are interested in folk style then watching a concert of ''Igor Moiseyev Ensemble'' alive is simply a must. Out of big cities you may easily find Irish dance, belly and Ball clubs, not to mention hip-hop and all.<br />
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* '''Cinema Festivals'''. The major movie venue in Russia is ''Moscow International Film Festival''[http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/] held in the end of June during 10 days and boasts of first-class stars from all over the world. ''Kinotavr''[http://www.kinotavr.ru/en/] of [[Sochi]], Moscow's ''Fesrtival of Latin America''[http://www.latinofiesta.ru/] and ''International film festival &quot;Zerkalo&quot; named after Andrei Tarkovsky''[http://www.mkfivanovo.ru/en/] in [[Ivanovo]] are also curious for film fans.<br />
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===Whitewater rafting===<br />
* Team Gorky [http://teamgorky.ru/eng/]<br />
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===Ecotourism===<br />
[[Image:Swan Lake at the Alexandrinsky Theatre.jpg|thumb|300px|Swan Lake, quite possibly performed weekly in Russia!]]<br />
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The association between Russia and its two biggest metropolises, Moscow and St Petersburg, is strong in the minds of tourists, but given its vast expanses and low population density, Russia is a nature lovers paradise as well. Russia has a network of exceptional natural areas, comprising 35 National Parks and 100 Nature Reserves (''zapovednik'') covering a total land mass larger than [[Germany]]. <br />
List of Russian Nature Reserves (in Russian) one can find here [http://mnr.gov.ru/part/?pid=610]<br />
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Some Russian Nature Reserves on the internet:<br />
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*'''The Great Arctic State Nature Reserve''' [http://bigarctic.ru/Eng/]<br />
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*'''Central Forest State Nature Bioshere Reserve''' [http://clgz.ru/index_en.htm]<br />
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*'''Ilmen State Reserve''' [http://igz.ilmeny.ac.ru/Default.asp]<br />
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Provided your paperwork is in order, you may visit these areas independently. For those wishing to seek guidance, there are travel agencies specializing in ecotourism in Russia such as:<br />
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*&lt;do name=&quot;Dersu Uzala: Ecotourism Development Fund&quot; phone=&quot;+7 495 518-5968&quot; email=&quot;dersu@ecotours.ru&quot; fax=&quot;+7 495 692-2053&quot; url=&quot;http://ecotours.ru/english/&quot;&gt;&lt;/do&gt;<br />
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==Buy==<br />
*'''''MatRyoshka''''' (''матрёшка'') — a collection of traditionally painted wooden dolls, each one stacking neatly within another<br />
*'''''USHANka''''' (''ушанка'') — a warm hat with ears ('''ushi''')<br />
*'''''SamoVAR''''' (''самовар'') — an indigenous design for brewing tea. Note that when purchasing samovars of value (historical, precious gems or metal, etc.), it is wise to check with customs before attempting to take it out of the country<br />
*'''Chocolate''' (''шоколад'') — Russian chocolate is very good<br />
*'''Ice-cream''' (''мороженое'') - Russian ice-cream also especially good. In general check dairy products, you may like them.<br />
*'''Winter coats''' in department stores are well made, stylish and excellent values<br />
*'''Military greatcoats''' (''sheeNEL'') available in hard-to-find stores of military equipment<br />
*'''Down pillows''' of very high quality are to be found<br />
*'''''HalVA''''' (''халва'') — it's different from [[Turkey|the Turkish kind]] (in that it's made of sunflower seeds, rather than sesame), but Rot-Front products are really good<br />
*'''Honey''' (''мёд'') — produced around the country; sorts and quality vary dramatically, but the higher-quality are worth seeking. [[Moscow]] hosts a honey market in Kolomenskoe some part of the year. A number of honey shops working all the year round can be found on VDNKh/VVTs grounds.<br />
*'''Caviar''' (''икра''), only red since 2007 (producing and selling black caviar is prohibited for ecological reasons) most easy to find in large stores (but maybe not the best one)<br />
*'''Hard cheese''' — mostly produced in Altai; occasionally available from there in large stores in Moscow<br />
*'''Sparkling wine''' (''шампанское'') — Sparkling wine, &quot;Russian Champagne&quot; is surprisingly good (Abrau-Durso is believed to be the best brand, yet there are other good ones, too). Make sure you order it &quot;suKHOye&quot; (dry) or Brut. Many restaurants serve it at room temperature, but if you request it &quot;cold&quot; they can usually find a semi-chilled bottle. The cost is surprisingly low also, about $10 USD<br />
*'''Skin-care products'''. While when it comes to make up, you'll find all the same products, that are popular on the West, a lot of people prefer locally produced skin-care products because of their superior price/quality combination. Brends to check: ''Nevskaya cosmetica'' (''Невская косметика'') [http://www.nevcos.ru] and ''Greenmama'' [http://www.greenmama.ru] <br />
*Many more traditional crafts <br />
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===Money===<br />
[[Image:Moscow GUM 2011.JPG|thumb|270px|The Moscow GUM—one of the world's most beautiful shopping malls, right on Red Square]]<br />
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Throughout its history Russia has had various version of the '''ruble''' (рубль), which is divided into 100 kopeks (копеек). The latest manifestation (RUB, replacing the RUR) was introduced in 1998 (although all notes and first issues of coins bear the year 1997). All pre-1998 currency is obsolete. <br />
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Coins are issued in 1, 5, 10, and 50 kopek and 1, 2, 5, and 10 ruble denominations. Banknotes come in 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, and 5000 ruble. The 5 ruble note is no longer issued or found in general circulation. The 10 ceased being printed in 2010 and will suffer the same fate. Both remain legel tender. Kopeks are generally useless, with most prices given to the nearest ruble. The 1 and 5 kopek coins are especially useless: even places that quote prices in non whole rubles will round to the nearest 10 kopeks. The ruble has been fairly stable in recent years (up to 2012), hovering around 30 to the US dollar and about 42 to the euro.<br />
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All banknotes have special marks (dots and lines in relief) to aid the blind in distinguishing values.<br />
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'''Checks''': Forget about travelers' checks (only some banks, such as Sberbank, will cash even American Express), and bring enough cash to last you for a few days, as occasionally communications networks handling ATM and credit card transactions are not available (as elsewhere in the world).<br />
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Sberbank will cash American Express without comission.<br />
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Russian law forbids payments not in rubles. Fortunatley, '''currency exchange''' offices (called ''bureaus'' in Saint Petersburg) are common throughout Russia. Banks and small currency exchange bureaus offer very good rates; hotels are generally expensive and thus not recommended. You need to show your passport at banks. Be sure to take your time to count how much money you got — different ways are sometimes used to trick the customer.<br />
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Small window-in-the-wall offices abound in Moscow and Saint Petersburg but are rare in other cities. They usually offer better exchange rates but don't require identification nor provide any receipts in most cases. Branches of large banks can be found in any major city, and Sberbank outlets are a must in any village down to ''rayonny centr''. Branches of banks are more trustworthy for not-so-attractive rates, and exchange session would last longer requiring a passport and giving you all the receipts you can imagine.<br />
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Window-in-the-wall exchanges frequently attract clients by declaring rates for amounts &gt;$1000 / &gt;EUR1000 (but stating this in small font). Rates for smaller amounts are demonstrated only in the window itself and are typically less attractive than even at regular banks. Frequently, people don't notice that rates are different. To make the difference even less evident, rates are set exactly 1 ruble differece, like 34.18 and 35.18 per Euro. Another trick used by windows-in-the-walls is a tray that makes 1-2 banknotes stick so they become hidden from you. Always check the amounts you are given. Many exchange bureaus will also convert '''other currencies''' beyond USD and EUR, although often the rate is not as good. You can compare rates if you buy USD/EUR in your country and sell them in Russia vs direct exchanges from your local currency to rubles at [http://rbc.ru/cash/|RBC.ru]—it displays exchange rates for cash in Moscow for every currency exchanged in Russia.<br />
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You will have easier time changing money if your '''banknotes''' are absolutely clean, and dollars should be the most recent updated design, as few places will accept the older versions.<br />
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Don't change money on the street. Unlike during Soviet times, there is no advantage to dealing with an unofficial vendor. There are several advanced schemes of scam for exchange on the street — better not give them a try.<br />
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'''ATMs''', called ''bankomats'', are common in large cities and can generally be found in smaller cities and towns. Though some may not accpet foreign cards. English language interface is available. Some may also dispense U.S. dollars. Russian ATMs will often limit withdrawals to about USD$1,000 per day. Big hotels are good places to find them.<br />
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In Moscow and Saint Petersburg more and more shops, restaurants, and services take '''credit cards'''. Visa/MasterCard are more accepted than American Express; Discover, Diners Club and other cards are rarely accepted. Most upscale establishments will accept credit cards, but beyond these it is pure chance.<br />
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'''Museums''' and sightseeing places take only cash, no credit cards. Have plenty of cash on hand each day to cover entrance fees, photographic fees (museums charge a fee for cameras and video recorders), tours, souvenirs, meals and transportation.<br />
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'''Train Stations''' may accept plastic, even outside the big cities, be sure to ask as it won't always be obvious. Otherwise take plenty of cash. ATM machines at train station are populat and often out of cash, so stock up before going to the train station.<br />
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Like anywhere in the world, it's better to avoid street ATMs (or at least to be very careful), as sometimes swindlers attach spy devices to them, to get your PIN and card details; the safest option is the ATMs in hotels, banks or big shopping centers.<br />
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===Supermarkets===<br />
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There is a number of cheap food/goods chains. <br />
* '''Billa''' [http://www.billa.ru] - a bit more expensive than the others.<br />
* '''Perekrestok''' (''Перекресток'')[http://www.perekrestok.ru/] - also one of more expensive ones.<br />
* '''Carousel''' (''Карусель'') [http://karusel.ru/shops.html] <br />
* '''Auchan''' (''Ашан'')[http://www.auchan.ru/] and '''Atack''' (''Атак'')[http://www.ataksupermarket.ru/atak.html] - it is the same brend, small local shops are called Atack, while hypermarkets - Aushan. One of the cheapest, notorious for occasional selling out-of-date food, so double-check expiration date, however mostly it is ok.<br />
* '''Magnit''' (''Магнит'')[http://www.magnit-info.ru/customers/branches/] <br />
* '''Pyatyorochka''' (''Пятёрочка'')[http://www.e5.ru/shops/]<br />
* '''Lenta '''(''Лента'')[http://www.lenta.com]<br />
* '''Diksi''' (''Дикси'')[http://dixy.ru]<br />
* '''O'Kay''' (''О'Кей'')[http://www.okmarket.ru]<br />
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===Costs===<br />
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==Eat==<br />
[[Image:Troika_Blini.JPG|thumb|280px|''Bliny'' buckwheat pancakes with salmon roe (''ikra''), sour cream (''smetana'') and chopped onion]]<br />
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Russian cuisine derives its rich and varied character from the vast and multicultural expanse of Russia. Its foundations were laid by the peasant food of the rural population in an often harsh climate, with a combination of plentiful fish, poultry, game, mushrooms, berries, and honey. Crops of rye, wheat, buckwheat, barley, and millet provided the ingredients for a plethora of breads, pancakes, cereals, kvass, beer, and vodka. Flavourful soups and stews centred on seasonal or storable produce, fish, and meats. This wholly native food remained the staples for the vast majority of Russians well into the 20th century. Lying on the northern reaches of the ancient Silk Road, as well as Russia's proximity to the Caucasus, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire has provided an inescapable Eastern character to its cooking methods (not so much in European Russia but distinguishable in the North Caucasus). Russia's renowned caviar is easily obtained, however prices can exceed the expenses of your entire trip. Dishes such as beef Stroganov and chicken kiev, from the pre-revolutionary era are available but mainly aimed at tourists as they lost their status and visibility during Soviet times. <br />
Russian specialities include:<br />
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*Pelmeni (meat-filled dumplings, especially popular in Ural and Siberian regions)<br />
*Blini (thin, savoury buckwheat pancakes)<br />
*Black bread (rye bread, somewhat similar to one used by North American delis and not as dense as German variety)<br />
*Piroshki (small pies or buns with sweet or savoury filling)<br />
*Golubtsy (Cabbage rolls)<br />
*Ikra Baklazhanaya (aubergine spread)<br />
*Okroshka (Cold soups based on kvass or sour milk)<br />
*Schi (cabbage soup) and Green schi (sorrel soup, may be served cold)<br />
*Borsch (beet and garlic soup)<br />
*Vinegret (salad of boiled beets, potato, carrots and other vegetables with vinegar)<br />
*Olivier (russian version of potato salad)<br />
*Shashlyk (various kebabs from the Caucasus republics of the former Soviet Union)<br />
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[[Image:Troika Pelmeni.JPG|thumb|280px|''Pelmeni'' meat dumplings with three dipping sauces]]<br />
<br />
Both Saint Petersburg and Moscow offer sophisticated, world class dining and a wide variety of cuisines including Japanese, Tibetan and Italian. They are also excellent cities to sample some of the best cuisines of the former Soviet Union (e.g., Georgian and Uzbek). It is also possible to eat well and cheaply there without resorting to the many western fast food chains that have opened up. Russians have their own versions of fast food restaurants which range from cafeteria style serving comfort foods to streetside kiosks cooking up blinis or stuffed potatos. Although their menus may not be in English, it is fairly easy to point to what is wanted — or at a picture of it, not unlike at western fast food restaurants. A small Russian dictionary will be useful at non- touristy restaurants offering table service where staff members will not speak English and the menus will be entirely in Cyrillic, but prices are very reasonable. Russian meat soups and meat pies are excellent. <br />
<br />
It is better not to drink the tap water in Russia and to avoid using ice in drinks, however bottled water and Coca Cola are available everywhere food is served.<br />
<br />
Stylish cafes serving cappuccino, espresso, toasted sandwiches, rich cakes and pastries are popping up all over Saint Petersburg and Moscow. Some do double duty as wine bars, others are also internet cafes.<br />
<br />
Unlike Europe, cafes in Russia (кафе) do not serve only drinks, but also a full range of meals (typically cooked in advance—unlike restaurants where part or whole cooking cycle is performed after you make an order).<br />
<br />
==Drink==<br />
Vodka, imported liquors (rum, gin, etc), international soft-drinks (Pepsi, Coca- Cola, Fanta, etc), local soft drinks (Tarhun, Buratino, Baikal, etc.), distilled water, kvas (sour-sweet non-alcoholic naturally carbonized drink made from fermented dark bread) and mors (traditional wild berry drink). <br />
<br />
'''Beer''' in Russia is cheap and the varieties are endless of both Russian and international brands. It is found for sale at any street vendor (warm) or stall (varies) in the center of any city and costs (costs double and triple the closer you are to the center) from about 17 rubles (about 50 US cents) to 130 rubles for a 0.5l bottle or can. &quot;Small&quot; bottles and cans (0.33l and around) are also widely sold, and there are also plastic bottles of 1, 1.5, 2 liters or even more, similar to those in which soft carbonated drinks are usually sold — many cheaper beers are sold that way and, being even cheaper due to large volume, are quite popular, despite some people say it can have a &quot;plastic&quot; taste. The highest prices (especially in the bars and restaurants) are traditionally in Moscow; Saint-Petersburg, on the other hand, is known for the cheaper and often better beers. Smaller cities and towns generally have similar prices if bought in the shop, but significantly lower ones in the bars and street cafes. Popular local brands of beer are Baltika, Stary Mel'nik, Bochkareff, Zolotaya Bochka, Tin'koff and many others. Locally made (mainly except some Czech and possibly some other European beers — you won't miss these, the price of a &quot;local&quot; Czech beer from the same shelf will be quite different) international trademarks like Holsten, Carlsberg, etc. are also widely available, but their quality doesn't differ so much from local beers. Soft drinks usually start from 20-30 rubles (yes, same or even more expensive than an average local beer in a same shop) and can cost up to 60 rubles or more in the Moscow center for a 0.5l plastic bottle or 0.33l can.<br />
<br />
[[Image:Russian Standard and Zelyonaya Marka.jpg|thumb|350px|High quality and popular domestic vodkas on the table: Russian Standard and Zelyonaya Marka]]<br />
<br />
Street vendors usually operate mainly in tourist- and local-frequented areas, and many of them (especially those who walk around without a stall) are working without a license, usually paying some kind of a bribe to local police. Their beer, however, is usually OK, as it was just bought in a nearby shop. In the less weekend-oriented locations, large booths (&quot;lar'ki&quot; or &quot;palatki&quot;, singular: &quot;laryok&quot; (&quot;stall&quot;) or &quot;palatka&quot; (literally, &quot;tent&quot;)) can be found everywhere, especially near metro stations and bus stops. They sell soft drinks, beer, and &quot;cocktails&quot; (basically a cheap soft drink mixed with alcohol, bad hangover is guaranteed from the cheaper ones) and their prices, while still not high, are often 20-40% more than those in supermarkets. The chain supermarkets (excluding some &quot;elite&quot; ones) and malls (mostly on bigger cities' outskirts) are usually the cheapest option for buying drinks (for food, the local markets in the smaller cities, but not in Moscow, are often cheaper). Staff of all of these (maybe except in some supermarkets, if you're lucky) does not speak or, at the best, speaks very basic English even in Moscow.<br />
<br />
Mixed alcoholic beverages as well as beers at nightclubs and bars are extremely expensive and are served without ice, with the mix (for example, coke) and alcohol charged for separately. Bringing your own is neither encouraged nor allowed, and some (usually dance-all-night venues oriented to the young crowd) places in Moscow even can take some measures to prevent customers from drinking outside (like a face-control who may refuse an entry on return, or the need to pay entry fee again after going out), or even from drinking the tap water instead of overpriced soft drinks by leaving only hot water available in the lavatories. Any illegal drugs are best avoided by the people not accustomed to the country — the enforcement is, in practice, focused on collecting more bribes from those buying and taking, rather than on busting drug-dealers, the people selling recreational illegal drugs in the clubs are too often linked with (or watched by) police; plain-clothes policemen know and frequently visit the venues where drugs are popular, and you will likely end up in a lot of problems with notoriously corrupt Russian police and probably paying multi-thousand-dollar (if not worse) bribe to get out, if you'll get caught. It really doesn't worth the risk here.<br />
<br />
'''Wines''' from Georgia and Moldova are quite popular (although all products from Georgia are illegal 2005). In Moscow and Saint Petersburg, most restaurants have a selection of European wines—generally at a high price. Please note that Russians prefer sweet wine as opposed to dry. French Chablis is widely available at restaurants and is of good quality. The Chablis runs about 240 rubles per glass. All white wines are served room temperature unless you are at an international hotel that caters to Westerners. <br />
<br />
Soviet '''champagne''' (Советское Шампанское, ''Sovetskoye Shampanskoye'') or, more politically correctly just sparkling wine (Игристые вина, ''Igristie vina'') is also served everywhere in the former Soviet Union at a reasonable price. The quality is generally on the level of cheap European sparkling wines and by far the most common variety is ''polusladkoye'' (semi-sweet), a misnomer for what most Westerners find syrupy-sweet, but the better brands also come in ''polusukhoe'' (semi-dry) and ''sukhoe'' (dry) varieties. The original producer and ''Sovetskoye Shampanskoye'' trademark holder is ''Latvijas Balzams'' in [[Latvia]], but Ukrainian brands like ''Odessa'' or ''Krymskoe'' are also very popular. Among Russian brands, the best brands seem to originate from the southern regions where grapes are widely grown. One of a quality Russian brands is ''Abrau-Dyurso'' (200-700 rubles for a bottle in the supermarket depending on variety); ''Tsimlyanskoe'' (150-250 rubles) is also popular. The quality of the cheapest ones (from 85-120 rubles, depending on where you buy) varies, you can buy if you do want to have a try while not paying much, but, for returning home, it's wiser to stick to something better.<br />
<br />
[[Image:Koeningsburg-097.jpg|thumb|300px|How it should be: a soviet-made bochka dispensing kvass on a hot day in Kaliningrad]]<br />
<br />
Genuine '''kvass''' is very hard to find in the cities, there are only some chances in rural areas—but even there, only by a recommendation. Whatever is sold in supermarkets as kvass is merely an imitation, and is pretty far from a real product. What makes genuine kvass different includes: limited lifetime (normally 1 week), contains some alcohol (0.7% to 2.6% vol) and should be stored in a fridge. Genuine kvass can be bought in 0.2l cups, which may be a good idea to sample it before buying in quantity. <br />
<br />
In warm periods, genuine kvass can be bought from huge metal barrels on trailers (''bochka''s). Originally a symbol of soviet summertime, bochkas became rare after 1991. Soviet nostalgia and these trailers' no-nonsense good functionality have given them a revival in recent years. There are also modern, plastic, stationary, upright barrel-like dispensers but these may not sell the genuine article. Towards the end of an especially hot day, avoid genuine kvass from bochkas as it may have soured.<br />
<br />
'''Medovukha''' (медовуха) aka mead, the ancient drink brewed from many a century ago by Europeans were also wide-spread among Russians. It has semi-sweet taste based on fermented honey and contains 10-16% of alcohol, you may see it sold in bottles or poured in cups in fast-food outlets and shops.<br />
<br />
==Sleep==<br />
[[Image:Ladya_Samara_winter.JPG|thumb|350px|Gleaming towers, symbols of Volga natural gas wealth, in [[Samara]] ]]<br />
<br />
In most cities, quality hotels are really scarce: most were built in Soviet times decades ago and are recently renovated in decor, but rarely in service and attitude. Even for a local, it's quite a problem to find a good hotel without a recommendation from a trusted person. For the same reason, it may be really hard to find a hotel during mass tourist-oriented events like StPete anniversary. <br />
<br />
Hotels in Russia may be quite expensive in metropolises and touristy areas. If you do speak a bit of Russian and are not entirely culture shocked, it is much smarter to seek out and rent a room in a private residence. Most Russians are looking to make extra money and, having space to spare, will rent it out to a tourist gladly. Native Moscovites or residents of Saint Petersburg would rather rent out to tourists than their own countrymen: foreigners are considered more trustworthy and orderly. Expect to pay 60-70 USD a night (usually with breakfast prepared by your host), and the accommodations will certainly be very clean and proper if not modern. When it comes to home/family life, Russian culture is very warm and inviting.<br />
<br />
Another useful option is short-term apartment rental offered by small companies or individuals. This means that certain flats in regular living buildings are permanently rented out on a daily basis. The flats may differ in their location and quality (from old-fashioned to recently renovated), but in any case you get a one- or two-room apartment with own kitchen, toilet, and bath. Additionally, the hosts provide bed linen as well as cups, plates, and other kitchen equipment. The apartment rental provides great autonomy and flexibility (e.g., there is no strict check-out time). On the other hand, you do not get certain hotel facilities, such as breakfast, laundry service, etc. The price for the daily apartment rental normally does not exceed the price for the hotel of similar quality, so it is a very useful options, especially in large cities. The negotiations are usually quite official: the host collects the data from your ID, while you get a bill and a rental agreement.<br />
<br />
A new phenomenon has been the development of &quot;mini-hotels&quot; in large Russian cities. Such hotels usually (but not necessarily!) provide clean modern rooms with private baths at far lower costs than conventional large hotels, approximately $60 vs. well over $150. These small hotels are located within existing apartment buildings and include one, two, or more floors located a story or two above street level. They also often serve breakfast. Saint Petersburg has quite a few with more opening all of the time and some are appearing in Moscow.<br />
<br />
Couchsurfing is very popular in Russian cities.<br />
<br />
==Learn==<br />
[[Image:Moscowstate250.jpg|thumb|350px|The Moscow State University mammoth, one of the &quot;severn sisters&quot;. Who said Stalinist architecture wasn't cool?]]<br />
<br />
Russia has a long-standing tradition in high-quality education for all citizens. It has also one of the best mass-education systems in the world, with excellent results at international educational competitions.<br />
<br />
'''Basic''' general education lasts for nine years. Graduates of this level may continue their education at senior high school to receive secondary general education. They may also enter an initial vocational school or non-university level higher education institutions. <br />
<br />
'''Higher''' education is provided by public and non-public (non-State) accredited higher education institutions, of which Lomonosov Moscow State University [http://msu.ru] and Saint Petersburg State University [http://spbu.ru] are the most famous.<br />
<br />
Due in great part to demands of the international educational organizations, the system of education in Russia began to adopt a system similar to that of Britain and the US: 4 years for the Bachelor's degree and 2 years for a Master's degree. The universities are still in the process of these changes; some of them offer the new system and others still work according to the prior 5-year system, particularly in programs such as law. <br />
<br />
Russia's top universities have very competitive entry requirements, and special entry exams are held each year. One of the great attractions of education in Russia is the cost, especially when compared to the quality. Degree study tuition can range from $2000 to $8000 per year, with other costs (room &amp; board, books, etc.) ranging from $1500 to $5000 per year, depending on location and spending habits. <br />
<br />
The academic year lasts from Sept 1 to Mid June everywhere, with long summer vacations from July 1st to Aug 31.<br />
<br />
Several universities and private schools offer [[Russian]] language courses (individual and group tuition).<br />
*Ruslanguage [http://russian-moscow.com] - Center for Russian Language Studies in Old Arbat, Moscow<br />
*Study in Russia [http://edurussian.com] — Russian Language Courses at Voronezh State University<br />
*Educa [http://educalanguageschool.com] — Centre for Russian language and Volunteer &amp; Internship programmes in Saint Petersburg<br />
*Extra Class[http://learnrussian.ru/] — Private school near Dostoevsky Museum in Saint Petersburg<br />
* Liden &amp; Denz [http://lidenz.ru/] — Private school in Moscow and Saint Petersburg<br />
* ProBa Language Center [http://studyrussian.spb.ru/] St.Petersburg, Russia<br />
* SRAS [http://sras.org] School of Russian and Asian Studies (all major Russian cities)<br />
* Moscow Times [http://themoscowtimes.com/travel/whilehere/study.html/] Study Guide from Moscow Times newspaper<br />
*Ziegler &amp; Partner [http://studyrussian.com] Russian language courses at Moscow State University<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
<br />
==Stay safe==<br />
<br />
{{warningbox| Travelling to the [[North Caucasus]] is strongly not advised as the current situation there is '''extremely dangerous''', due to ongoing conflict within the region.}}<br />
<br />
Largely because of the transition from state socialism to market capitalism, Russia did experience a rise in criminal activity during the 1990s. As those who controlled capital through the state had to reconfigure their business operations towards a free enterprise rationality, profiteering and scams have increased. The truth is that crime was greatly exaggerated in the media, and for the average tourist Moscow, Saint Petersburg and the rest of Russia are actually just as safe as most major [[Europe]]an cities.<br />
<br />
=== Crime ===<br />
[[Image:Lada_Police.jpg|thumb|350px|Alas, there is a whole Lada police corruption in Russia.]]<br />
Once historically very high since the break up of the Soviet Union, the crime rate has fallen dramatically, and it is '''moderate''', even though the crime issues are continuing to drop. Assault, robbery, or pickpockets are the most commonly done crimes and they are more common in underground walkways and the subway, overnight trains, train stations, airports, markets, tourist attractions, and restaurants. Foreigners who have been drinking alcohol are especially vulnerable to assault and robbery in or around nightclubs or bars, or on their way home. Some travelers have been drugged at bars, while others have taken strangers back to their lodgings, where they were drugged, robbed and/or assaulted. Of significant notation is that Nightclubs are vulnerable to acts of spiking drinks. The drug called GHB is gaining popularity in nightclubs, and it has been proven that this drug can knock you unconscious, give you amnesia, and can even kill you. Typically it’s in the form of a capful of liquid mixed with a beverage.<br />
<br />
Bogus trolley inspectors, whose aim is to extort a bribe from individuals while checking for trolley tickets, are also a threat. The use of unmarked taxis is also a problem, as passengers have been victims of robbery, kidnapping, extortion, and theft. Although there are few registered taxi services in Russia, you should always use authorized services when arriving at a major airport, and it is best to ask which is registered before moving along.<br />
<br />
Russia's law enforcement are well-trained and are extremely professional in their jobs. Although being historically very inadequate since the Soviet Union' breakup, the government has fought police corruption fiercely with success. Policemen should not dare to bribe anyone, as they themselves will end up being fined huge amounts. While there is an ongoing effort to shape up the police force initiated by the government, some policemen still remain underpaid, and therefore corrupt. <br />
<br />
If you intend to take a stroll during the night, have someone to accompany you — going alone can only make you a target for corrupt officials and maybe criminals.<br />
<br />
=== North Caucasus ===<br />
As a tourist, you are strongly discouraged to travel to the [[North Caucasus]], as that region is the most dangerous in the entire country. The area has garnered a bad reputation for terrorism, crime and extremes of both corruption and lawlessness. <br />
<br />
At present, the safest region to access for the time being is [[Karachay-Cherkessia]], as that region has encountered very little attacks in the past few years. If you really need to visit the more dangerous pockets of the region, it's best to contact your embassy before traveling to the area. Assistance will be limited, however. <br />
<br />
If you are planning to see Mt. Elbrus, it's best to put it on hold until the situation in the region improves.<br />
<br />
=== Driving ===<br />
[[Image:St_Petersburg_traffic.jpg|thumb|350px|Typical traffic in Russia.]]<br />
<br />
Driving by the majority of Russians is routinely reckless, and has claimed more than 35,000 lives each year. Reckless Driving habits, the lack of proper training, and a mixture of very old to old model cars all what contributes to a high death rate on roads. Drivers attack their art with an equal mix of aggressiveness and incompetence. Guidelines are lax and rarely followed. As a pedestrian, take great care when crossing the roads, as pedestrian crossings are widely ignored. Most drivers are not very well trained and forged their licenses to avoid problems with the police. More importantly, the rapidly expanding economy has led to an increase in traffic density. Driving in the tunnels is perhaps even more dangerous than driving on the roads — the tunnels are improperly built as a result of underinvestment, and they claim even more casualties than on the roads. <br />
<br />
When driving '''you must not be under the influence of alcohol.''' Russians have a zero tolerance to this, and the penalty is about two years imprisonment. If you are pulled over by the GAI (Russian Traffic Police), don't worry — they will simply check your papers. By law, the GAI should not try to solicit a bribe — if that happens, you are entitled to report it to the nearest police station. Under no circumstances try to run away from them — if you do, they will shoot your vehicle.<br />
<br />
=== Corruption ===<br />
Russia is among one of the world's most corrupt countries, and the police force and traffic police are the most corrupt institutions in the entire country. Russians, being accustomed to a police state throughout most of their history, are unlikely to offer a lot of help if you have a run in with corrupt officials or criminals on the street. As a result, busy main streets are often less safe than quiet back streets—-there are simply more opportunities for the corrupt.<br />
<br />
=== Russian Mafia ===<br />
The &quot;Russian Mafia&quot; make for fun movies but are absolutely not a threat to tourists—at best they and their girlfriends are a tourist attraction themselves, as they often dine in foreigner-friendly establishments. Foreigners ''are'' disproportionately targeted by pickpockets; foreigners of a non-white complexion are also more likely to be harassed by street youths or corrupt officials. But if you take sensible precautions, nothing bad should happen to you. Keep in mind that the majority of foreigners who do &quot;find&quot; problems do so while drunk. <br />
<br />
=== Juvenile Delinquency ===<br />
In cities, keep an eye out for juvenile delinquency. Russia has a heartbreakingly large problem of orphaned street children, who unsurprisingly resort to minor crime to keep themselves alive. &quot;Gypsy&quot; children employ some interesting techniques to separate you from your money, including creating a distraction (even fighting among themselves), bumping into you to pick your pockets, or simply swarming a surprised traveler and running their hands through every possible hiding place on your person. In such a situation, instead of showing weakness, just give the offenders a stiff shove and perhaps a few choice words in Russian and they will look for easier targets. You are far less likely to run across older juvenile delinquents, like belligerent skinheads or football hooligans, but if you do, best to give them a wide berth.<br />
<br />
=== Racism ===<br />
Racism is prolific in Russia and has become increasingly violent in recent years. Though travelers do not typically encounter violent hate crimes, it is important to be careful if you are not White and/or if you are noticeably not Christian. While federal law (article 105 of Russia's criminal code) demands harsher penalties against perpetrators of hate crimes, the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes is highly inadequate. Many of these crimes are committed by Neo-Nazis and skinheads in groups, though one may encounter non-violent racism by individuals throughout the country. The bulk of attacks tend to take place in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Voronezh. If you feel you may be at risk, be aware of those around you, walk in groups when possible, and carry pepper spray if you feel particularly at risk.<br />
<br />
For a detailed account of the current state of racism in Russia, please refer to the United Nations Human Rights Council [http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/type,QUERYRESPONSE,,RUS,4b7cee862d,0.html website].<br />
<br />
More information about xenophobia and hate crimes in Russia can be found on the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis [http://www.sova-center.ru/en/ website].<br />
<br />
=== Identification Papers ===<br />
[[Image:Vologda_frescoes.jpg|thumb|350px|Beautiful frescoes in a [[Vologda]] church]]<br />
<br />
There is a mistaken belief that everyone in Russia must carry identification papers. This is not the case. However, a lack of proper identification, while not punishable in itself, can lead to 3-hour detention &quot;for identification purposes&quot;. Formally, arbitrary document checks are not permitted. They do still happen, though with far less frequency than previously, especially in the larger cities. Document checks are now more likely in places with little tourism - some police officers have very narrow notions of what should be appropriate for tourists.<br />
<br />
Having no documents can lead to being held for up to 3 h but not arrested. The detention should not be behind bars and you should not be deprived of your belongings (such as mobile phone): you can be taken to a police station, where you will end up sitting on a chair in a normal room while police &quot;identify&quot; you, but again, this rarely happens. Like most countries, you can be arrested if you are suspected of having committed a crime, but being unable to provide ID is not a crime and carried no penalty. No physical force can used in the detaining, unless you apply it first. If you are stopped, be confident and remember that police officers are forbidden from shouting at you. The passport checks that do happen are primarily targeted at darker skinned people who are suspected of being illegal immigrants. Western-looking, Caucasian people are very rarely asked on the street for ID. <br />
<br />
To spare yourself of potential problems, you may choose to carry your passport, migration card and registration slip on you. If you do, keep a separate photocopy just in case. <br />
<br />
Being stopped for ID is not necessarily a pretext for a bribe. Normally a police officer will salute and ask for your passport (listen out for words like 'paspart', 'veeza' or 'dokumenty'). Hand these to them, they will look at them, hand them back and salute you. While generally an unnerving experience for first time tourists, there is nothing sinister in this.<br />
<br />
A corrupt policeman may claim that there are problems with your documentation (passport, immigrations card and residence registration), and demand a fine (bribe). You have three options: you may politely, friendly, and firmly explain that actually everything is fine, there is no problem with your documents, and that you are willing to go to the police station to clear things up or you can pay (300 rouble should be enough in metropolitan areas). The first option is difficult without some Russian proficiency (and solid nerves), but will generally work. The second option buys you peace but encourages further corruption. The third option is more confrontational and requires some nerve: get out a mobile phone and threaten to call your embassy. This can work and the police may well back off.<br />
<br />
=== Shopping ===<br />
Keep your money folded with small bills on the outside, concealing the larger ones. Bring out your cash only when actually handing it over. Keep larger amounts separate and hidden from smaller day-to-day money.<br />
<br />
==Stay healthy==<br />
Medical facilities in general vary. A majority of hospitals are extremely well equipped, clean, and possess all of the latest technologies, while there are some that are well below western standards, with shortages in medication and neglected equipment.<br />
<br />
Ensure that all of your vaccinations are up to date, and you have sufficient amounts of any prescription medicine you may be taking. Pharmacies are common in major cities and carry quality western medications.<br />
<br />
Quality of tap water varies around the country, and may even be variable ''within'' cities. In old buildings tap water can be non-potable. In the big cities of European Russia, the water is clean of biological contaminants, but often suffers from the presence of heavy metals, due to outdated city plumbing. If you can't buy bottled water, boil water before drinking, or better yet use a special filter for tap water, which you could buy in any supermarket. Bottled water costs only about 20-30 rubles ($0.8-$1.1 USD) for 2 liters, but watch out for refilled bottles being sold.<br />
<br />
[[Image:The Church of the Nativity of St John the Baptist.jpg|thumb|240px|A fairly typical country church in wintry [[Staraya Ladoga]] ]]<br />
<br />
Besides local doctors (generally good quality but often working in poor facilities) there are several Western-run medical centers in major Russian cities. These all have different policies for payment (some take credit cards, some require payment in cash up front, even if you have insurance) so make sure you know what you are paying for (and when and how) before you agree to any services.<br />
<br />
Be careful not to buy fake vodka, which can be dangerous (seriously here, 'dangerous' doesn't mean 'strong'; it can contain methanol). Only buy vodka in large stores or specialized ones like Aromatnyi Mir [http://aroma.spb.ru/shops.html] in Moscow, with the sticker over the cap and/or the region's barcode on the side.<br />
<br />
Significant number of food stores, including some food/goods chains, standalone food shops, kiosks and food markets are rumourously famous for selling food of bad quality, including out-of-date or even out-of-date with expire date reprinted with a later date. Although most of them are quite good. When possible, check the quality of the food with visual observation, don't especially trust expire date labels, that are added in a replaceable way. Also you can take note of what others are buying, sometimes you can even ask other buyers which product is better, it's considered normal. That could help you make a good choice. Examples of usually bad quality food sold are most of fish products, including smoked and spicy salted (be especially care), pre-made salads, fresh vegetables and fruits, when you can't handpick them (at markets check them after shop-women picked them for you, you can usually change those you don't like, at shops they usually don't allow to change, and use to add some bad ones into bag), vegetables conservatives sold with discount (and with older production date usually), cheaper dairy products, though less consistent, checking what others buy may help you here. Cheaper juices often come diluted with water, the rule of thumb is buying those with &quot;Сад&quot; (Sad/Garden) word in the name. If you are unsure, don't buy it, or if already bought, just throw it away. <br />
<br />
The country's '''HIV''' prevalence is steadily rising, mainly for prostitutes, young adults and drug users. Be safe.<br />
<br />
==Respect==<br />
Russians are reserved and well-mannered people.<br />
<br />
=== Gestures ===<br />
Smiling in Russia is traditionally reserved for friends, and smiling at a stranger may make them self-conscious. Smile at a Russian in the street and most likely they will not respond in kind. An automatic Western smile is widely regarded as insincere. While that tradition is slowly changing as Russia smiling is still very rare in customer service. Sales assistants, public servants and the like are expected to look serious and businesslike. Hence the very common misconception about Russians that they are a very grim folk and never smile — they do, once they get to know you, and become very welcoming and kind. <br />
<br />
When approaching a stranger with a question, attempt to use Russian at first and ask if they speak English, Russians are very proud of their language and people will be noticeably more aloof if you approach them speaking English. Even just using the Russian equivalents of 'please' and 'thank you' will make a noticeable difference to people.<br />
<br />
Women are traditionally treated with chivalry. Female travellers should not act surprised or indignant when their Russian male friends pay their bills at restaurants, open every door in front of them, offer their hand to help them climb down that little step or help them carry anything heavier than a handbag — this is not intended as condescending. Male travellers should understand that this will be expected of them by Russian women too.<br />
<br />
While tipping was traditionally frowned upon in Russia it has been emerging after the fall of communism. A customary tip in a restaurant is 10%, and should you leave more money than the exact total when paying your bill at a restaurant, particularly if it happens to be more or less like 10% above the total, it ''will'' be interpreted as a tip. If the service was particularly bad and you don't want to leave a tip, ask for your change.<br />
<br />
The &quot;OK&quot; gesture is okay.<br />
<br />
===Inside voices===<br />
[[Image:Fortress Oreshek.jpg|thumb|350px|Fortress Oreshek on Lake Ladoga, no longer that necessary for defense against the Swedish navy.]]<br />
<br />
Russians have a marvelously and intimately quiet way of speaking with one another in public. It's best to try and follow suit to avoid standing out like a sore thumb and generally making everyone around you really uncomfortable—stand a little closer to your interlocutor and ease up on the volume.<br />
<br />
=== Sensitive Issues ===<br />
A lot of respect is required when it comes to talking about World War II and the Soviet Union. That conflict was a major tragedy for Soviets and every family has at least one relative among the 25-30 million people who died—way above all of Western Europe and America combined—and the scars of that conflict are still felt today.<br />
<br />
Avoid discussing relations with the Georgians. Talking about this subject can lead to hostility and maybe even fierce debates. Tense relations between the two countries have led to many conflicts, most notably the 2008 South Ossetia war. Antipathy towards Georgians is still high.<br />
<br />
=== Political Issues ===<br />
Likewise, '''keep your political opinions to yourself'''. Ask as many questions as you like, but avoid making statements or comments about its past and current political situation. Russia and the Soviet Union had an often violent history and most Russian people are tired of hearing &quot;how bad the Soviet Union was&quot; from western people. They lived it, are proud of both its triumphs and tragedies, and they probably know much more about it than you. Also avoid criticising the conflict in Chechnya. Even though horrific things have happened there, most Russians support Putin and people will say that Chechnya was, is, and will always be Russian. The separatist forces are regarded as Islamist terrorists.<br />
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=== Home Etiquette ===<br />
*''' If you are invited to somebody's home, bring them a small gift as a form of respect'''. However, most will end up protesting when offered a gift. Reply that it is a little something and offer the gift again and it will generally be accepted, hopefully. It is reasonable to bring a bottle of alcohol if you expect to spend the evening in a less formal way. <br />
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* '''If you bring flowers, do not give yellow ones''' — in Russia, this color is considered as a sign of cheating in love and separation and especially never used for wedding bouquets. The other superstition is related to the number of flowers. This quantity must always be odd that is 3,5,7 and so on. An even number of flowers is always brought to funerals.<br />
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*''' Do not give a baby gift until after the baby is born to a particular family.''' It is bad luck to do so sooner. Verbal congratulations before a person's birthday is often thought as a bad sign.<br />
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[[Image:Church_on_Blood, Yekaterinburg.jpg|thumb|350px|Church on the Blood, [[Yekaterinburg]], on the spot where Tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks, ending the Romanov Dynasty]]<br />
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* '''When arriving someone's house, remove your outdoor shoes.''' You may be given slippers to wear. <br />
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* '''In someone's house''' , Dress in formal clothes. Dressing well shows respect for your hosts. However, this rule may not work among young people.<br />
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=== Dining Etiquette ===<br />
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*'''When having food with hosts, Do not get up until you are invited to leave the table.''' This is not considered polite.<br />
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*'''The hosts might get quite persistent when offering an alcoholic drink.''' You will often have to be very firm if you want to reject that 2nd (or the 3rd, 4th, 10th...) shot. Claiming problems with medicine or pregnancy is always an imperfect option. Simply and grimly stating that you are an alcoholic can do the job too, but will depress your hosts. <br />
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* '''You will often be urged to take second helpings ad infinitum.''' If so, take it as a form of respect. Moreover, they really will love you if you keep eating.<br />
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* '''Do not rest your elbows on the table.''' This is considered rude (for kids).<br />
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=== Other Etiquette ===<br />
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* '''When traveling by train, you may share your food with other Russians'''. This is considered extremely polite.<br />
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==Contact== <br />
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&lt;!-- phone, internet, mail info --&gt;<br />
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{{hasDocent|DenisYurkin}}<br />
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[[ar:روسيا]]<br />
[[ca:Rússia]]<br />
[[de:Russland]]<br />
[[eo:Rusio]]<br />
[[es:Rusia]]<br />
[[fi:Venäjä]]<br />
[[fr:Russie]]<br />
[[hi:रूस]]<br />
[[hu:Oroszország]]<br />
[[it:Russia]]<br />
[[ja:ロシア]]<br />
[[nl:Rusland]]<br />
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[[WikiPedia:Russia]]<br />
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[[World66:europe/russia]]</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Sierra_Leone&diff=1944521Sierra Leone2012-10-20T18:15:59Z<p>AHeneen: /* By plane */ Update airlines serving Freetown</p>
<hr />
<div>{{quickbar<br />
| image=[[Image:TongoFieldsSierraLeone.jpg|noframe|250px]]<br />
| location=[[Image:LocationSierraLeone.png|250px|noframe]]<br />
| flag=[[Image:sl-flag.png]]<br />
| capital=[[Freetown]]<br />
| government=Republic<br />
| currency=Leone (SLL)<br />
| area=''total:'' 71,740 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;br /&gt;''water:'' 120 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;br /&gt;''land:'' 71,620 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;<br />
| population=4,976,871 (2004)<br />
| language=English (official), [[Krio phrasebook|Krio]] (English-based Creole, Lingua Franca), [[Mende phrasebook|Mende]] (principal vernacular in the south), [[Temne phrasebook|Temne]] (principal vernacular in the north) <br />
| religion=Muslim, Christian, indigenous beliefs<br />
| electricity=220V/50Hz (British plug)<br />
| callingcode=+232<br />
| tld=.sl<br />
| timezone=UTC<br />
}}<br />
'''Sierra Leone''' is on the West Coast of Africa between 7 and 10 degrees N, and longitudes 10.5 and 13 degrees W. The Republic of [[Guinea]] is to the north and northeast; [[Liberia]] is to the east and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west and south. It has 402 km of coastline.<br />
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From an approximate 100km coastal belt of low-lying land, the country rises to a mountain plateau near the eastern frontier rising 1200m to 2000m with a rich timber forest region.<br />
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The peninsula, on which the capital and main commercial centre of [[Freetown]] stands, is 40km long and 17km wide with a mountainous interior.<br />
<br />
==Understand==<br />
Sierra Leone celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence from Britain in 2011. Since the end of its civil war in 2002, the government, with considerable international assistance, has made modest improvements in the country's infrastructure which should help the tourism sector: the highway linking Freetown and Bo is now tarred from start to finish and Bumbuna hydroelectric dam supplies electricity when water levels are high enough (both completed in 2009). While the government sector still suffers from chronic shortage of resources, the private sector is booming. The potential for tourism is vast, but largely unrealised. Tourists are starting to return and tour operators are looking closely at what the country has to offer. Sierra Leone is rich in natural resources. It has some of the best beaches in the world, a rich colonial heritage, and some stunning scenery, but its greatest asset is its welcoming, friendly populace, most of whom will go out of their way to make a foreigner comfortable.<br />
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===Climate===<br />
Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, typified by warm temperatures and high humidity. Night time temperatures rarely drop below 24C and daytime temperatures reach 30C throughout the year. From October to March the weather is generally dry with many fine, hot, sunny days. From April to September, is the rainy season. The rainfall increases to a peak in July and August and then decreases until rain has almost ceased by November.<br />
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===Terrain===<br />
Coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east.<br />
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Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m <br />
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Highest point: [[Loma Mansa]] (Bintimani) 1,948 m<br />
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===Electricity===<br />
Electricity is officially 220V/50Hz. Sockets are British standard. Supplies are unreliable, but improving - parts of Freetown do now get a reasonable supply. The Bumbuna Dam hydro-electric project is now operational (6 November 2009), which provides 50MW of electricity to the capital, which is supplemented by 26MW of thermal power generation. Away from [[Freetown]], mains electricity is only available in [[Bo]] and [[Kenema]] and comes and goes unpredictably. [[Makeni]], [[Koidu]] and [[Lungi]] (airport) have new power stations under construction.<br />
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==Cities==<br />
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[[Image:Sierra-leone-regions-map.png|thumb|350px|Map of Sierra Leone]]<br />
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*[[Freetown]] — capital city in the western part of the country<br />
*[[Bo]] — second largest city and capital of the southern region<br />
*[[Bonthe]] — An old administrative center on Sherbro Island, now quiet and charmingly decayed<br />
*[[Kabala]] — An isolated town in the northern hills<br />
*[[Kenema]] — Major town in the eastern part of the country<br />
*[[Koidu]] — Another town in the east, capital of the diamond mining Kono district<br />
*[[Makeni]] — Fast developing town in the north<br />
*[[Magburaka]] — Former capital of the northern region and end of the defunct railway line<br />
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==Other destinations==<br />
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*[[Banana Islands]] — prime tourist spot in Sierra Leone with the idyllic environment of pristine tropical islands<br />
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==Get in==<br />
Please note that Yellow Fever vaccination certificates are required for most nationalities. Proof of vaccination might be required to get a visa and is checked at the airport on arrival.<br />
===Passport and Visa===<br />
All persons entering Sierra Leone must have a valid passport or travel document. Citizens of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) do not require a visa to enter the country. All other nationalities will require a visa, which are issued at Sierra Leone's overseas missions and at the land borders. Visas are not too hard to get, it is unlikely that anyone will be refused unless there is a very good reason for the government not to want them in the country. Visa prices vary considerably based on your citizenship: US citizens need to fork out around US$130 for one, a 3 month visa for UK citizens is £50, German citizens pay €100, while most others can get away with as little as $40. Contact the local embassy for current prices (UK [http://www.slhc-uk.org.uk/], USA [http://www.embassyofsierraleone.org/]). Getting the visa in Conakry takes 72 hours and even after waiting that long the consul might ask you for extra money so it is better to arrange it in Monrovia or elsewhere.<br />
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===By plane===<br />
The international airport is at Lungi, the other side of the estuary from [[Freetown]]. Since 2009 there has been a proliferation of &quot;water taxis,&quot; small yacht-like boats that cost around $40, offer free bus connections from the airport terminal, and serve various destinations in Freetown, including Aberdeen, Murray Town, and Kissy. The hovercraft service has resumed operations under the Helog company. It (usually...) runs from Man of War Bay in Aberdeen. <br />
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Three often-overloaded car ferries run to the east end of [[Freetown]] from Tagrin at the southern tip of Lungi, docking at Kissy Ferry Terminal, which cross the water in 45-70 minutes, but can take several hours including waiting/loading times. For those with a light load, local speedboats (US$1.25) and larger, slower &quot;pampa&quot; boats (US$0.50) are by far the most affordable, if not safest, option. They run fairly frequently, when full, on the same route as the car ferries. The landing in Lungi is wet, but porters wait to carry you in or out of the boats for a small fee (US$0.25).<br />
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By road it is 5+ hours to the city, via Port Loko using some poor roads. This would probably be the most miserable route, and it's not clear that anyone uses it. <br />
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The helicopter service from Lungi has ceased indefinitely as of 2011.<br />
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Safety concerns have been expressed over all of the different transport options from the airport to Freetown.<br />
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British Airways is well established, with three direct flights per week to London Heathrow. Air France flies to [[Paris]] (via [[Conakry]]). Brussels Airlines[http://www.flysn.com/] flies to [[Brussels]]. From November 2012, McPhillips Travel have two direct flights from London Gatwick per week.<br />
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Flights to [[Nairobi]] (Kenya Airways), [[Casablanca]] (Royal Air Maroc), [[Accra]] (ASKY Airlines, Fly540 Ghana, Kenya Airways), [[Lagos]] (Arik Air), [[Banjul]] (Arik Air, ASKY Airlines, Fly 6ix, Gambia Bird), [[Conakry]] (ASKY Airlines, Fly 6ix), [[Monrovia]] (Fly 6ix, Royal Air Maroc) and [[Bamako]] (ASKY Airlines) are available. <br />
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Unfortunately, thefts from hold baggage are very common at the airport, especially on the way out of the country. Carry anything of value in your cabin luggage.<br />
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===By car===<br />
Currently Sierra Leone can be accessed by road from [[Guinea]]([[Conakry]]) and [[Liberia]]. Special permits are required if transiting the border with a private vehicle. Private taxis, buses and trucks commute daily to and from [[Conakry]]/[[Freetown]].<br />
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===By bus===<br />
The Sierra Leone Road Transport Authority has some buses which link the major cities. There are minibuses which can be used in Sierra Leone called poda poda. They are run by private individuals with some of the worst driving skills in the country and can cost between 2500 and 5000 Leones (£0.50-£1). There are no designated bus stops and so one can stand on a street and wave to get it to stop. However, be careful with personal belongings as petty theft is common on these buses. They are also usually dangerously overloaded.<br />
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===By boat===<br />
Sierra Leone has the 3rd largest natural harbour in the world and is looking forward to the arrival of cruise ships. Cargo and Passenger ships berth at the Queen Elizabeth II quay, while some passenger/Cargo and private crafts can land at the Government Wharf in central [[Freetown]], arriving most times from [[Conakry]] and [[Banjul]]. Enquiries should be made to Cargo Shipping Agencies.<br />
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==Get around==<br />
===By car===<br />
The road network fell into disrepair during the civil war. However, recently, there has been a substantial reconstruction programme which means the main roads to regional cities such as [[Bo]], [[Kenema]] and [[Makeni]] are in excellent condition. The road to Kabala mostly smooth tar, with a few terribly potholed patches. The road to Kono is for three quarters tar, but the remaining quart is in mostly poor condition. It means it takes as much time to cover 3/4 of the distance as it takes for the balance 1/4. Government has planned to upgrade the last stretch in 2011. <br />
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The peninsular road is good from Eastern Freetown clockwise around the peninsular to Tokeh. Work has started on the remaining section to Lumley, but at the end of 2011 remains in very poor condition, with the section between No. 2 Beach and Tokeh being nearly impassable to all but high-clearance 4WD and motorbikes. <br />
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The roads in Freetown are difficult to characterize. In the center of town, the main roads are mostly smooth and pothole-free, having been constructed from high-quality asphalt a long time ago. Side streets are often a mixture of dirt and gravel, sometimes with large protruding stones, deep crevasses, and other potential dangers. Most main feeder roads such as Wilkinson Road, Spur Road and Sir Samuel Lewis road in the Western part of Freetown are in atrocious condition, but work is under way to reconstruct them - expect traffic chaos until some time in 2012. When walking, always keep your eyes in front of you: most of the sidewalks in Freetown have &quot;death traps,&quot; missing blocks of cement that could lead to a nasty fall into an open gutter. For this reason, most Freetown residents choose to walk in the street and avoid sidewalks, a major contributing factor to the city's congestion.<br />
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===By Poda-poda===<br />
''Poda-poda'' is the Sierra Leonean term for ye old West African bush taxi. Poda-podas are a lot less fun than your average bush taxi, though, reflecting the country's relative poverty compared to the rest of the region. The vehicles seem to be stitched together with thread, always nearly at the breaking point, six people for each row of three seats, blaring hip hop turning off and on with application of the gas pedal, never sure whose sweat that is, never sure whether it will make the next hill. They are really cheap, though. Intercity trips often cost a mere 1,500-2,500 Leones (2011 ~US$0.50), and any trip within Freetown just 1,000. Shared taxis are marginally more comfortable, but still packed to the gills, and usually about the same price.<br />
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===By boat===<br />
The Sea Coach Express boathouse under the bridge between Aberdeen and Murray Town in [[Freetown]] is happy to charter the same nice speedboats they use for airport transfers to take you up and down the coast and up the Sierra Leone River. If you have a larger group of people, dropping $300-400 for a daytrip down to the [[Banana Islands]], [[Bonthe Island]], [[Turtle Islands]], or even just some random stretch of long-lost beach could be absolutely worth the cost.<br />
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===By motorbike===<br />
Moto-taxi is a very efficient way of getting around, with low prices, decent mobility on bad roads, and the ability to skirt past traffic. But they are dangerous. And when traveling on dirt roads, you will wind up covered in dust, often choking on the stuff kicked up by larger vehicles. The driver is required to wear a helmet and to have one to offer to the passenger. Yeah, right. It's also against the law nowadays to have more than two people on one motorcycle. So if you have three people on one bike, and you are approaching a vehicle check, one person will have to get off and walk through the checkpoint...<br />
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Buying your own motorcycle is probably the ideal mode of independent travel. Even the worst roads will be passable in dry season, and you won't have to worry about being transported by careless drivers. Be aware that driving your bike inside the major cities is dangerous due to the crazy traffic, but outside the cities you should be OK as long as you wear a helmet with a visor to protect yourself from dust.<br />
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==Talk==<br />
English is the official language, but [[Krio phrasebook|Krio]] is the lingua franca. Krio is not a creole, whatever some local snobs may say, it is a full fledged language with regular grammar and set writing conventions. Unsurprisingly, then, the minority Krios, who mostly live in the [[Freetown Peninsula]] take English as a second language, while the Temnes, Mendes, and other groups have their tongues occupied with Krio as their second language. This makes getting around the peninsula pretty easy for English speakers, but the entire rest of the country is more or less Krio-only land. While Krio vocabulary is predominantly from English, it is not intelligible to your average English speaker—although you might be able to follow a little bit if you know some basic vocabulary, when you already know what people are talking about.<br />
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In the provinces, [[Mende phrasebook|Mende]] is the principal vernacular in the south and [[Temne phrasebook|Temne]] is the principal vernacular in the north; regular Krio use is mostly limited to provincial cities.<br />
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==See==<br />
The beaches of the Freetown peninsula are spectacular, and on an average day, deserted. There are at least ten that could be described as world-class.<br />
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[[Bonthe]] Town, on Sherbro Island, is a former British Colonial Town, with several beautiful stone churches, and a rich culture.<br />
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Tiwai Island (in the middle of a river in SE Sierra Leone) is teeming with rare wildlife.<br />
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Rural West African villages: experience hospitality and the tranquility of the bush.<br />
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The Turtle Islands, difficult to get to, but idyllic.<br />
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==Do==<br />
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Run the Kiln Sierra Leone Marathon - on the 9th June 2012 come to the beautiful countryside of Makeni to run either a marathon, half marathon or 5k in aid of Street Child of Sierra Leone (http://www.street-child.co.uk/). The run is an opportunity for adventure and a chance to visit Street Child projects and meet the people who will benefit from fundraising alongside the opportunity to travel and be inspired by the landscape and people of Sierra Leone. http://www.kilnsierraleonemarathon.com/<br />
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==Buy==<br />
The unit of currency is the Leone, symbol Le. Leone coins have the value Le50, Le100 and Le500. Bank notes are Le1000, Le2000,Le5000 and Le10000. On May 14th 2010, new bank notes were introduced. The new notes are slightly different in size to the originals and are supposedly more durable. The old Le500 note has not been replaced. The designs are very similar to the old notes. The new notes far outnumber the old type as of the end of May 2010, so it can be expected that people will not want to accept the old notes for much longer. The old type can be exchanged at banks for one year after the launch date of the new notes.<br />
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Exchanging money is very easy, either through the black market or banks. The small bank at the airport offers reasonable rates. GB£, Euro or US$ are most popular, although others are possible.<br />
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Exchange rates (Dec 2011):<br />
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*1GB£=Le7300<br />
*1US$=Le4400<br />
*1EU€=Le6200<br />
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Credit cards are accepted in a few supermarkets, restaurants and hotels (Visa only). The airport duty free shop does take major cards. Some of the other hotels are planning to take cards. It is possible to get money from some banks with a credit card, but the process can be long and rather costly. There are ATMs in [[Freetown]] most are not internationally linked. Rokel Commercial Bank has ATMs that accept international Visa cards.<br />
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Money and daily life<br />
As much as Sierra Leone is a poor country it will surprise you with the high cost of everything. The lack of a good import system and high import duties plus 15% Goods and Services Tax (GST) mean that many goods are double the price that one would expect to pay in other countries.<br />
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Foreigners often pay up to ten times the price quoted to locals when it comes to goods you find on the street so make sure to bargain and lower the price as much as you can.<br />
If you are prepared to stay in cheap guest houses (and that means not a safe location with bed bugs in the bed) and travel only by local bus (poda poda) and eat only at street corners (not recommended for your health), you can get by in Freetown on a minimum of around LE 220,000 (about $55) per day. If you want to eat a decent restaurant meal every now and then and stay in mid-range accommodation, a more realistic budget is around LE 440,000 (about $110). If you want to eat and sleep well , you can easily chew through LE 880,000 (about $220)per day.<br />
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==Eat==<br />
The main staple of Sierra Leonean food is rice, often accompanied by soup i.e. stews. These stews may include a delicious and often spicy mix of meat, fish, seasonings, greens, etc., often taking hours to prepare. There are plenty of good quality restaurants offering a variety of local and international dishes.<br />
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The diet of Sierra Leoneans like many African countries is very healthy. Many tend to eat some fresh fruit picked from trees growing in their homes or freshly picked by market vendors that very day. They also eat seafood particularly in the capital Freetown which is on the Atlantic coast. It is common to go to areas such as Lumley Beach where one can find local fishermen pulling in nets from the Atlantic filled with fish such as crabs, lobsters, oysters, snappers and many, many more. <br />
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The locals of Sierra Leone keep healthy by eating many plant-based dishes which are high in fibre, such as cassava leaves, potato leaves, okra, and more.<br />
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==Drink==<br />
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The national brewer Sierra Leone Breweries Limited produces the high quality Star beer. Many European beers are also imported. As in many African countries Guinness is widely popular. Soft drinks such as Coca Cola and Fanta are locally produced. Wine is available from restaurants and supermarkets, but can be expensive. Local brewed palm wine (called &quot;poyo&quot; in Krio), is very popular throughout Sierra Leone.<br />
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==Sleep==<br />
There are some hotels/guesthouses in [[Freetown]]. Facilities are very limited in other cities, although improvements are being made. [[Makeni]] now has at least one good hotel. There are a few nice, very small, resort-style getaways, notably at [[Banana Island]] and [[Bonthe Island]]. <br />
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Overnights in Sierra Leone are quite expensive, and similar to what one might spend in the United States, but with poorer amenities. There are guesthouses to be found in towns of any significant size, usually for $35-$50 for a single room, and will almost always have shared bath/toilet. Average hotels are around $100-$180 for a single room. <br />
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The cheapest accommodation in SL is found in the villages—ask for the chief (who should speak some Krio, if not any English), and then request a guest house (&quot;guest house&quot; is the right term in Krio, so you will be understood). There is no formal charge associated with the chief's hospitality, but you should &quot;pay him respects&quot; in the morning to the tune of about $6-8, and then expect to be handing out 10,000 leone notes to the guesthouse caretaker, the water-fetcher, and at least one other person for some random reason.<br />
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==Learn==<br />
Sierra Leone is an excellent place to pursue independent research. Possible areas of study are African music, dance, history, politics, as well as zoology, botany, traditional medicine. Krio teachers are easy to find. Unfortunately, the idea of advertising private drum and dance lessons hasn't caught on like it has in other West African countries like Ghana and Senegal, but the possibility exists for those willing to search for a qualified instructor. It's unlikely you'd want to come to Sierra Leone to study at Fourah Bay College or Njala University. These institutions are famous for corrupt practices such awarding of grades in exchange for monetary payment or sexual favors, and the facilities are generally poor. Most Sierra Leoneans with the financial means aspire to attend university abroad.<br />
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==Work==<br />
Many British and American citizens, as well as other Europeans, find short-term volunteer work with international or local NGOs. Finding paid work can be more challenging, but not impossible, especially if you are trained in a field that is lacking qualified locals. Be aware that you may have to pay for an annual work permit, which costs $1000.<br />
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==Stay safe==<br />
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Despite the horrific ultra-violence of the 90s—or actually, because of it—Sierra Leone is very much a safe country to visit. While petty pick-pocketing, bag-snatching, and other non-violent crimes are a problem in parts of Freetown (and the police are non-responsive), violent crime is extremely rare throughout the country by any international standards, even in the capital.<br />
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Corruption is less of a problem than it once was. The current president Koroma has led a somewhat successful campaign against corruption, with a series of high-level arrests, initiatives to, say, prevent police from charging bogus fines to travellers trying to exit the airport, and, crucially, no record of corruption on his own part. Freetown (Lungi) airport is tolerable by African standards, and road stops no longer equal &quot;fines&quot;.<br />
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The usual dangers found in undeveloped sub-Saharan Africa, though, are present: '''traffic''' and '''disease'''. Traffic accidents are far less common than they have any right to be, but be aware that the overcrowded, barely hanging together ''poda-podas'' are physics-defying death-traps. Similarly, moto-taxis ''love speed'', with total disregard to the lurking dangers of broken roads, gaping potholes, charging trucks lurking in the dust. Walking around the cities at night is hazardous not so much for fear of crime, but rather because the lack of lighting can cause a fall, or a driver might not see you in the road. Locals carry cell phones that have flash-lights, if yours does not, always bring a torch.<br />
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The dangers associated with tropical disease are basically neither more or less than anywhere else in [[West Africa]], but there are no hospitals anywhere close to Western standards. Malaria is as usual the biggest danger, and any foreign visitor travelling without a mosquito net and anti-malarials is risking their life. During the rainy season, cholera is a frequent problem in much of Sierra Leone.<br />
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==Stay healthy==<br />
Water-borne diseases, [[malaria]] and other [[tropical diseases]] are prevalent. You should consider taking medication to protect against malaria and using insect repellent. Vaccination against [[yellow fever]] is now required and against rabies might be recommended. HIV/AIDS is prevalent. Lassa fever can be contracted in [[Kenema]] and the east. In 2010, it has also spread to the North, resulting in 48 deaths between the start of the year and November. If you have travelled in these regions you should seek urgent medical advice for any fever not positively identified as malaria.<br />
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Medical facilities are very poor. You should carry basic medical supplies. You should take medical advice before travelling and ensure that all appropriate vaccinations are up to date. Drink only bottled water and be aware of what you eat and how well cooked it is.<br />
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==Contact==<br />
Contact information for government offices, consulates and embassies, and local businesses nationwide can be found in the Sierra Leone Business Directory [http://www.leonedirect.com]<br />
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===Phone===<br />
The country code is 232. Sierra Leone has fixed line phone service in [[Freetown]], [[Bo]] and [[Kenema]]. The mobile phone network uses the GSM technology (as in [[Europe]]) and use is widespread. The format for dialling is: +232-##-######, where the first &quot;##&quot; designates the area code. Key area codes include Freetown (22) and Bo (32). Calls to mobile phones use the operator's area codes: (77/88/30) for Africell, (76/78) for Airtel (Celtel/Zain) and (33) for Comium. Tigo was bought by Africell in late 2009, and their 30 prefix was incorporated into the Africell network. Like other countries, when dialling locally, &quot;00&quot; is used to access an international number (and followed by the country code) and &quot;0&quot; is used to access a national number (followed by the area code). The major cities and industrial areas enjoy good coverage as well as some major national roads. Airtel is the oldest and has the best nationwide coverage. International roaming is available. International calling is relatively cheap. Some of the mobile networks charge as little as $0.35/minute to all countries with some countries costing just $0.15 per minute.<br />
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Airtel Sierra Leone is part of the One Network Service. This allows an Airtel SIM card from another country to be used in Sierra Leone. Incoming calls are free to receive and local calls are charged at local rates. Remember that calls to the SIM cards home country will be charged at international rates.<br />
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Sierra Leone now uses 112 for emergency calls from any phone network. Calls are free and will be directed to the relevant emergency service.<br />
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===Internet===<br />
Internet access is universally slow. The major hotels in [[Freetown]] usually have wireless networks. FGC Wireless covers parts of Freetown with a pay-as-you-go wireless broadband service, although it is fairly slow. The situation is expected to improve at the end of 2012 when the country is linked by fibre optic cable to Europe and South Africa.<br />
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Airtel are offering a GPRS/3G service which works quite well. USB modem wireless internet is also available from Airtel, Comium and Sierratel. Africell have also launched a 3G service for smart phones.<br />
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Fixed internet service is available from Afcom, Lime Line and IPTEL.<br />
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{{isPartOf|West Africa}}<br />
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[[WikiPedia:Sierra Leone]]<br />
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[[World66:africa/sierraleone]]<br />
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[[wts:Category:Sierra Leone]]</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Brazil&diff=1944515Brazil2012-10-20T18:01:16Z<p>AHeneen: Undo revision 1944409 by 177.159.238.3 (talk) no useful info</p>
<hr />
<div>{{quickbar<br />
| image=[[Image:Brazil_rio_janeiro.jpg|250px|noframe]]<br />
| location=[[Image:BrazilWorldMap.png|250px|noframe]]<br />
| flag=[[Image:br-flag.png|150px]]<br />
| capital=[[Brasilia]]<br />
| government=Federal Republic<br />
| currency=Brazilian Real (R$)<br />
| | area= ''total:'' 8,514,877 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;br /&gt;''water:'' 55,460 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;br /&gt;''land:'' 8,459,417 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;<br />
| population=190,732,694 (2010 Census)<br />
| language=[[Portuguese]]<br />
| religion=Roman Catholic 64.6%, Protestant 22.2%, none 8.0% (2010 Census)<br />
| electricity=In general 127V/60Hz with some cities using 220V/60Hz (North American or European plug); 110V/60Hz has been confirmed in use in Sao Paulo and most other sites do not mention 127V, but 110V.<br />
| callingcode=55<br />
| tld=.br<br />
| timezone=UTC -3 (-2 to -4)<br />
}}<br />
'''Brazil''' (Portuguese: ''Brasil''), [http://www.visitbrasil.com/], is the largest country in [[South America]] and fifth largest in the world. Famous for its football (soccer) tradition and its annual Carnaval in [[Rio_de_Janeiro_(city)|Rio de Janeiro]], [[Salvador]], [[Recife]] and [[Olinda]]. It is a country of great diversity, from the bustling urban mosaic of [[São Paulo]] to the infinite cultural energy of [[Pernambuco]] and [[Bahia]], the wilderness of the Amazon rainforest and world-class landmarks such as the [[Iguaçu Falls]], there is plenty to see and to do in Brazil.<br />
==Understand==<br />
<br />
Brazil was inhabited solely by indigenous people, mainly of the ''Tupi'' and ''Guarani'' ethnic groups. Settling by the Portuguese began late in the 16th century, with the extraction of valuable wood from the ''pau brasil'' tree, from which the country draws its name. Brazil was settled by the Portuguese and not the Spanish, as were the rest of Central, South and parts of North America in the New World. Despite Portuguese rule, some parts of Brazil formed a Dutch colony between 1630 and 1654. They founded several cities, such as Mauritsville, and many sugar cane plantations. The Dutch fought a grim jungle war with the Portuguese, and without the support of the Republic of their homeland due to a war with England, the Dutch surrendered to the Portuguese, though they did not officially recognize Portuguese rule, which led to an all-out war with Portugal off the coast of Portugal in 1656. In 1665 the Peace Treaty of The Hague was signed, Portugal lost its Asian colonies and had to pay 63 tons of gold to compensate the Dutch Republic for the loss of its colony.<br />
<br />
Brazil became the centre of the Portuguese Empire by 1808, when the King Dom João VI (John VI) fled from Napoleon's invasion of Portugal and established himself and his government in the city of [[Rio de Janeiro]].<br />
<br />
The following four centuries saw further exploitation of the country's natural riches such as gold and rubber, alongside the rise of an economy based largely on sugar, coffee and African slave labor. Meanwhile, extermination and Christianizing of natives kept its pace, and the 19th and 20th Century saw a second wave of immigration, mainly Italian, German (in southern Brazil), Spanish, Japanese (In São Paulo State) and Portuguese, adding to the set of factors that generated today's complex and unique Brazilian culture and society.<br />
<br />
Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation on September 7th, 1822. Until 1889 Brazil was an Empire under the rule of Dom Pedro I and his son Dom Pedro II. By this time, it became an emerging international power. Slavery, which had initially been widespread, was restricted by successive legislation until its final abolition in 1888. Perhaps this was the reason why the Empire was abolished in the following year: unhappy with the the end of slavery, the ultraconservatives shifted their support to Republicanism and the Emperor was overthrown in a sudden ''coup d'état''.<br />
<br />
<br />
By far the largest, most populous and prosperous country in Latin America, it has also overcome more than two decades (1964-1988) of military intervention in the governance of the country to pursue democratic rule, while facing the challenge of keeping its industrial and agricultural growth and developing its interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, today Brazil is Latin America's leading economic power and a regional leader, overshadowing the likes of [[Mexico]] and [[Argentina]]. High rates of political corruption and unequal income distribution, though softening from 2004 onwards, remains a pressing problem. A consequence of this is a high crime rate, specifically in large cities.<br />
<br />
After 20 years of democracy, the country has grown strong, and despite the social problems of the unequal income distribution, the people try to remain happy and festive.<br />
<br />
===Culture===<br />
Owing to Brazil’s continental dimensions, varied geography, history and people, the country’s culture is rich and diverse. It has several regional variations, and in spite of being mostly unified by a single language, some regions are so different from each other that they look like different countries altogether.<br />
<br />
'''Music''' plays an important part in Brazilian identity. Styles like ''choro'', ''samba'' and ''bossa nova'' are considered genuinely Brazilian. ''Caipira'' music is also in the roots of ''sertanejo'', the national equivalent to country music. MPB stands for Brazilian Popular Music, which mixes several national styles under a single concept. ''Forró'', a north-eastern happy dancing music style, has also become common nationwide. New urban styles include ''funk'' - name given to a dance music genre from Rio's ''favelas'' that mixes heavy electronic beats and often raunchy rapping - and ''techno-brega'', a crowd-pleaser in northern states, that fuses romantic pop, dance music and caribbean rhythms.<br />
<br />
A mixture of martial arts, dance, music and game, '''capoeira''' was brought to Brazil by African slaves, mainly from Portuguese [[Angola]]. Distinguished by vivacious complicated movements and accompanying music, it can be seen and practiced in many Brazilian cities. <br />
<br />
In the classical music, the Modern Period is particularly notable, due to the works of composers like Heitor Villa-Lobos and Camargo Guarnieri, who created a typical Brazilian school, mixing elements of the traditional European classical music to the Brazilian rhythms, while other composers like Cláudio Santoro followed the guidelines of the Second School of Vienna. In the Romantic Period, the greatest name was Antonio Carlos Gomes, author of some Italian-styled operas with typical Brazilian themes, like ''Il Guarany'' and ''Lo Schiavo''. In the Classical Period, the most prominent name is José Maurício Nunes Garcia, a priest who wrote both sacred and secular music and was very influenced by the Viennese classical style of the 18th and early 19th century.<br />
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'''Candomble''' and '''Umbanda''' are religions with African roots that have survived prejudice and persecution and still have a significant following in Brazil. Their places of cult are called ''terreiros'' and many are open to visit.<br />
<br />
'''Indigenous''' traits can be found everywhere in Brazilian culture, from cuisine to vocabulary. There are still many indigenous groups and tribes living in all Brazilian regions, although many have been deeply influenced by Western culture, and several of the country's surviving indigenous languages are in danger of disappearing completely. The traditional lifestyle and graphic expressions of the Wajãpi indigenous group from the state of [[Amapá]] were proclaimed a Masterpiece of the World's Intangible Heritage [http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/masterpiece.php?id=54&amp;lg=en] by UNESCO.<br />
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Globo, the largest national television network, also plays an important role in shaping the national identity. Nine out of ten households have a TV set, which is the most important source of information and entertainment for most Brazilians, followed by the radio broadcast. TVs broadcast sports, movies, local and national news and '''telenovelas''' (soap operas)– 6-10 month-long series that have become one of the country’s main cultural exports.<br />
<br />
===People===<br />
Throughout its history, Brazil has welcomed several different peoples and practices. Brazil constitutes a melting pot of the most diverse ethnic groups thus mitigating ethnic prejudices and preventing racial conflicts, though long-lasting slavery and genocide among indigenous populations have taken their toll. Prejudice is generally directed towards different social classes rather than between races. Nevertheless, race, or simply skin colour, is still a dividing factor in Brazilian society and you will notice the skin typically darkens as the social class gets lower: wealthy upper-class people are mostly white; many middle-class are mixed; and the majority of poor people are black. Nowadays, however, Afro-Brazilians and Amerindian populations are increasingly aware of their civil rights and of their rich cultural heritage, and social mobility is achievable through education. <br />
<br />
In general, Brazilians are a fun-loving people. While Southerners may be somewhat colder and more reserved, from Rio upwards people usually boast a captivating attitude towards life and truly enjoy having a good time. Some may even tell you that beer, football, samba, barbecue and woman is all they could crave for. <br />
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Friendship and hospitality are highly praised traits, and family and social connections are strongly valued. To people they have met, or at least know by name, Brazilians are usually very open, friendly and sometimes quite generous. Once introduced, until getting a good reason not to, a typical Brazilian may treat you as warmly as he would treat a best friend. Brazilians are reputedly one of the most hospitable people in the world and foreigners are usually treated with respect and often with true admiration. <br />
<br />
Attitudes towards foreigners may also be subject to regional differences: <br />
<br />
* The state of [[Santa Catarina]] welcomes their Spanish-speaking tourists with bilingual signs and welcome committees.<br />
* In [[Salvador]], the largest city of the [[Northeast (Brazil)|Northeast]], anyone talking, acting or looking like a tourist (even other Brazilians!) could be charged higher prices, such as in parking lots, in restaurants, etc. <br />
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Most Brazilians are honest and genuinely friendly, but many are used to small acts of corruption in their everyday lives, the so-called ''jeitinho brasileiro''. If you obviously look like a tourist, you are a potential target; for instance, a vendor may try to sell goods at higher prices, or a taxi driver may choose the longest route to the destination. It doesn't mean that you can't trust anyone, just that you have to be a bit more alert and careful, particularly if someone seems ''too friendly''.<br />
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Whereas the &quot;Western&quot; roots of Brazilian culture are largely European, especially Iberian, as evidenced by its colonial towns and even sporadic historic buildings between the skyscrapers, there has been a strong tendency in recent decades to adopt a more &quot;American way of life&quot; which is found in urban culture and architecture, mass media, consumerism and a strongly positive feeling towards technical progress. In spite of that, Brazil is still a nation faced towards the Atlantic, not towards Hispanic America, and the intellectual elites are likely to look up to [[Europe]], especially [[France]], as source of inspiration, rather than the [[US]]. Many aspects in Brazilian society, such as the educational system, are inspired by the French, and may seem strange at first to Anglo-Saxon visitors.<br />
<br />
Brazilians ARE NOT HISPANIC. Some may be offended if a visitor openly says that, or tends to believe that Brazilians have Spanish as a primary or secondary language, visitors will receive a warmer welcome if they try to start conversations in Portuguese, but even if the visitor speaks Spanish towards Brazilians, they're likely to answer in Portuguese.<br />
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The contrasts in this huge country equally fascinates and shocks most visitors, especially Europeans, as well as the indifference of many locals towards the social, economic and ecological problems. Whereas an emerging elite of young, well-educated professionals indulge in amenities of modern society, child labor, illiteracy and subhuman housing conditions still exist even in regions blessed by economic growth and huge foreign investments such as [[São Paulo]] or [[Rio de Janeiro|Rio]].<br />
<br />
<br />
As much as Brazilians acknowledge their self-sustainability in raw materials, agriculture, and energy sources as an enormous benefit for the future, most of them agree that without huge efforts in education there will hardly be a way out of poverty and underdevelopment.<br />
<br />
Since the beginning of the 21st century, Brazil has faced an increasing wave of immigration from [[China]], [[Bolivia]] and [[Haiti]].<br />
<br />
=== Climate ===<br />
Brazil is a huge country with different climate zones. In the [[North (Brazil)|North]], near the equator there is a wet and a dry season; from about [[São Paulo]] down to the south there is spring/summer/fall/winter.<br />
<br />
===Holidays and working hours===<br />
<br />
Brazil observes the following 13 '''national holidays''': <br />
*New Year - 1st January <br />
*Carnival - February/March (Movable - 7 weeks before Easter. Monday and Tuesday are the actual holidays, but celebrations usually begin on Saturday and last until 12PM of Ash Wednesday, when shops and services re-open.)<br />
*Good Friday - March/April (movable) two days before Easter Sunday<br />
*Tiradentes - 21st April<br />
*Labour Day - 1st May<br />
*Corpus Christi - May/June (movable) sixty days after Easter Sunday<br />
*Independence Day - 7th September<br />
*Patroness of Brazil - 12th October<br />
*All Souls' Day (''Finados'') - 2nd November<br />
*Republic - 15th November<br />
*Christmas - 25th December<br />
<br />
'''Working hours''' are usually from 8AM or 9AM to 5PM or 6PM. Banks open Monday to Friday, from 10AM to 4PM. Street shops tend to close at noon on Saturday and only re-open on Monday. Shopping malls normally open from 10AM to 10PM, Monday to Saturday, and from 3PM to 9PM on Sundays. Some malls, especially in large cities, are also open on Sundays, although not all the stores may be open. It is also possible to find 24-hour stores and small markets that are open even on Sundays.<br />
<br />
===Electricity===<br />
<br />
Brazil is one of a few countries that uses both 120 and 240 volts for everyday appliances. Expect the voltage to change back and forth as you travel from one place to the next -- even within the same Brazilian state, sometimes even within the same building. There is no physical difference in the electric outlets (power mains) for the two voltages.<br />
<br />
Electric outlets usually accept both flat (North American), and round (European) plugs. Otherwise adaptors from flat blades to round pins are easy to find in any supermarket or hardware shop. Some outlets are too narrow for the German &quot;Schuko&quot; plugs. The best makeshift solution is to buy a cheap T-connection and just force your &quot;Schuko&quot; in, -the T will break, but it will work. Very few outlets have a grounding point, and some might not accept newer North American polarized plugs, where one pin is slightly larger. Again, use the cheap T. Near the border with [[Argentina]], you might occasionally find outlets for the Australia/New Zealand-type plug. If crossing the border, you'll probably need this adapter as well.<br />
<br />
In 2009/2010, a the '''IEC 60906-1''' was introduced to Brazil and some newer buildings already have it. It is backwards compatible with the Europlug, but it has a receded socket. Again, T-plugs can be used as adapters for other common formats.<br />
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Frequency is 60Hz, which may disturb 50 Hz electric clocks. Blackouts are less and less frequent, but you always run a risk at peak of high season in small tourist towns.<br />
<br />
''See also: '''[[Travel topics]]''''' -- [[Electrical systems]]<br />
<br />
==Regions==<br />
[[image:BrazilMap.png|thumb|right|500px|Regions of Brazil]]<br />
Brazil is the fifth largest country on earth. It is divided into five regions, mainly drawn around state lines, but they also more or less follow natural, economic and cultural borderlines.<br />
<br />
{{Regionlist<br />
| regionmap=<br />
| regionmaptext=<br />
| region1name=[[North (Brazil)|North]]<br />
| region1color=#71b76b<br />
| region1items=[[Acre (Brazil)|Acre]], [[Amapá]], [[Amazonas (Brazil)|Amazonas]], [[Pará (Brazil)|Pará]], [[Rondônia]], [[Roraima]], [[Tocantins]]<br />
| region1description=The [[Amazonia|Amazon]], the rain forest and frontier life, with remarkable Amerindian influence. Note the states of [[Mato Grosso]] and [[Goiás]] in the Center West region (below) are mostly within the Amazon Basin as well. <br />
<br />
| region2name=[[Northeast (Brazil)|Northeast]]<br />
| region2color=#d0b340<br />
| region2items=[[Alagoas]], [[Bahia]], [[Ceará]], [[Maranhão]], [[Paraíba]], [[Pernambuco]], [[Piauí]], [[Rio Grande do Norte]], [[Sergipe]]<br />
| region2description=Strong black culture (especially in [[Bahia]]) mingles with early Iberic folklore and Indigenous traditions. This is often considered the country's most beautiful coastline, and has the sunniest and hottest climate; but it is also the country's driest and poorest region. Capital of the &quot;Forró&quot; musical style.<br />
<br />
| region3name=[[Central West (Brazil)|Central West]]<br />
| region3color=#d5dc76<br />
| region3items=[[Distrito Federal (Brazil)|Distrito Federal]] (Federal District), [[Goiás]], [[Mato Grosso]], [[Mato Grosso do Sul]]<br />
| region3description=The ''Pantanal'' wetlands, great farms, young cities, the cerrado and the [[Distrito Federal (Brazil)|Federal District]], with its otherworldly modernist architecture. Birth place of the &quot;sertanejo&quot; music style.<br />
<br />
| region4name=[[Southeast (Brazil)|Southeast]]<br />
| region4color=#d59c76<br />
| region4items=[[Espirito Santo]], [[Minas Gerais]], [[Rio de Janeiro (state)|Rio de Janeiro]], [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]]<br />
| region4description= The cosmopolitan heart of the country. [[São Paulo]] and [[Rio de Janeiro|Rio]] are the largest cities of the country and its economic and industrial hub; there are also some century-old colonial towns, especially in [[Minas Gerais]].<br />
<br />
| region5name=[[South (Brazil)|South]]<br />
| region5color=#97c1c4<br />
| region5items= [[Rio Grande do Sul]], [[Paran&amp;aacute;]], [[Santa Catarina]]<br />
| region5description=Is a land of valleys and pampas where a strong ''gaucho'' culture (shared with Uruguay and Argentina) meets European influences. It has the best standard of living in Brazil with only two large cities ([[Curitiba]] and [[Porto Alegre]]) and several mid-size cities and rural settlements. Great German, Italian, Polish and Ukrainian took place in the region during the 19th century. <br />
<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Cities==<br />
<br />
Brazil has many exciting cities, ranging from pretty colonial towns and coastal hideouts to hectic, lively metropolises; these are a few of the more prominent travel destinations:<br />
<br />
* [[Brasilia|Brasília]] - The capital of Brazil, and an architectural spectacle. Noteworthy buildings include a basket-shaped cathedral, the beautiful Arches Palace (seat of the Ministry of Justice) and others.<br />
* [[Florianopolis|Florianópolis]] - The city is located in an island in the Atlantic Ocean in the southern state of Santa Catarina, with lakes, lagoons, amazing nature and more than 40 clean, beautiful, natural beaches. Major destination for Argentines during the summer months.<br />
* [[Fortaleza]] -- The 4th biggest city in Brazil, blessed with beautiful beaches. Home of the Iracema Beach street market. A good base for exploring the beaches of the northeastern coast, including [[Jericoacoara]]. Famed for forró music and comedians.<br />
* [[Manaus]] - Located in the heart of the Amazon, is the capital of [[Amazonas (Brazil)|Amazonas]] State and it is also the biggest city of the Amazon. At Manaus the rivers Negro and Solimões meet to became the Amazonas River. The best place to go to visit the Amazon rainforest. It is a gateway to the Anavilhanas and to Jaú National Park.<br />
*[[Porto Alegre]]-- a major city between Argentina and São Paulo and gateway to Brazil's fabulous Green Canyons.<br />
* [[Recife]] - A major city in the Northeast region, originally settled by Dutch colonizers. Nicknamed &quot;The Brazilian Venice&quot;, it is built on several islands linked by many bridges. Rich in history, art and folklore. Do not miss neighboring [[Olinda]] and [[Porto de Galinhas]]. The city is also a gateway to the amazing archipelago of [[Fernando de Noronha]].<br />
* [[Rio de Janeiro]] - World famous, beautiful city that welcomes visitors with that big statue of an open-armed Jesus atop Corcovado Hill.<br />
* [[Salvador]] - The first capital of Brazil is home to a unique blend of indigenous, African and European cultures. Its Carnival fun is famous, and the influence of African culture and religion is remarkable.<br />
* [[São Paulo]] - Brazil's largest, richest and most cosmopolitan city, where you can find strong influences of several ethnicities, including Italian, Korean, Japanese, German, Russian, Caribbean, Greek and Arab.&lt;!-- the following cities should be sorted in the list of the respective region! <br />
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Other cities also attract a good deal of travelers:<br />
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* [[Belo Horizonte]] -- Capital of [[Minas Gerais]], is a convenient starting point to explore the state's colonial past.<br />
* [[Búzios]] -- Trendy seaside town with 25 beaches. 192 km north of Rio.<br />
* [[Campo Grande]] -- Very green and many parks.<br />
* [[Campos do Jordão]] -- A European-style city, in the state of São Paulo. It's famous for its fresh climate and the Winter Classical Music Festival.<br />
* [[Corumbá]] -- &quot;Capital&quot; of [[Pantanal]].<br />
* [[Cuiabá]] -- The major gateway to Pantanal, near several beautiful places like: Chapada dos Guimarães with it's water fall &quot;Véu de noiva&quot;, Curvelandia's caves and rivers, fishing in Barão de Melgaço.<br />
* [[Gramado]] -- A very beautiful Germanic city in the highlands of Rio Grande do Sul, known for its wonderful &quot;Natal Luz&quot; (The Christmas-Light), the most impressive Christmas festival of the Latin America. It's also known for the Film Festival.<br />
<br />
* [[João Pessoa]] -- The easternmost Brazilian city, where the sun rises first. Nicknamed &quot;Jardim das Acácias&quot; (Acacia Garden), rather unexplored, with a warm climate, good-hearted people and beautiful beaches.<br />
* [[Maceió]] -- One of the many northeastern coastal cities, with Caribbean-blue beaches.<br />
* [[Natal]] -- Sunny beaches and dunes. Has the reputation of being the sunniest Brazilian city.<br />
* [[Olinda]] -- A colonial town, popular for its culture and arts scene and a Carnival that rivals those of Rio and Salvador. Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO due to its XVI and XVII-century buildings.<br />
* [[Ouro Preto]] -- Another colonial town, with the largest sample of the baroque art in Latin America. It was once the financial center of Brazil, during the gold rush. The entire city is part of the World Heritage Site by UNESCO.<br />
* [[Penedo]] -- A small town in the state of Rio de Janeiro, near the border with São Paulo. The city was settled by Finns and both languages - Finnish and Portuguese - are spoken in this city.<br />
* [[Porto Alegre]] -- An urban destination in Brazil's southernmost state of [[Rio Grande do Sul]]. Has a very active nightlife.<br />
* [[São Luís]] -- Founded by the French in the 17th century and soon taken over by Portuguese forces after a quick Dutch occupation, São Luis is a fascinating town that managed to preserve its Portuguese influenced colonial buildings and is also known for its rich popular culture. The island also share cultural similarities with Jamaica and is known as the Brazilian reggae capital.<br />
* [[Vitória]] -- Midway between Rio and Salvador, it is a beautiful city between the mountains and the ocean.<br />
* [[Taquarussu]] -- Located in the hills near [[Palmas]] ([[Tocantins]]) it's famous for its waterfalls.--&gt;<br />
<br />
==Other destinations==<br />
* [[Amazonas (Brazil)|Amazonia]] - jungle tours, wildlife, floated wood, the mysteries of the Amazon<br />
* [[Chapada Diamantina National Park]]<br />
* [[Chapada dos Veadeiros]] &amp;mdash; ''cerrado'' (tropical savanna) wildlife and stunning waterfalls<br />
* [[Fernando de Noronha]] &amp;mdash; tropical island paradise in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, is protected as a Marine National Park since 1997 and a World Heritage Site<br />
* [[Ilha Grande]]<br />
* [[Iguaçu Falls]] &amp;mdash; world-famous waterfalls<br />
* [[Ilha do Marajó]]<br />
* [[Lençóis Maranhenses]]<br />
* [[Pantanal]] &amp;mdash; the world's largest wetland hosts lots of eco-tourism and vast biodiversity, including caiman, jaguar, anaconda, giant anteater, primates, giant otter, and piranha<br />
<br />
==Get in==<br />
===Visa requirements===<br />
<br />
* Brazil has a reciprocal visa policy with all countries, meaning that whenever prices and restrictions are applied to Brazilian visiting a country, Brazil adopts the same measures for that country's visitors.<br />
<br />
* Citizens from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Zambia may enter the country with a valid ID card and stay up to 90 days.<br />
<br />
* No visa is required for stays of up to 90 days from holders of passports from these countries, unless otherwise indicated: Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Rep., Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong SAR passport, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Monaco, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad &amp; Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom (Including British National (Overseas) passport holders), Uruguay , Venezuela (60 days) and Vatican City. Note that the immigration officer has the right to restrict your visa to less than 90 days, if he deems fit. (This has been done routinely for lone male travellers arriving in [[Fortaleza]], allegedly to combat prostitution tourism.) He will then state the number of days (e.g. 60 or 30) in pen writing inside the stamp just given in your passport; if not, it remains as 90 days.<br />
<br />
* Citizens from all other countries (complete list [http://www.portalconsular.mre.gov.br/antes/quadro-geral-de-regime-de-vistos-1]) do require a visa. The fees vary depending on reciprocity: for example, US citizens have to pay ''at least'' US$160 for a tourist visa and US$220 for a business visa. As of August 2012, citizens of Canada should expect to pay at least CDN$81.25 for a tourist visa, not including any handling or processing fees. Cost of Brazil visa for citizens of Taiwan or Taiwanese passport holder pay $20 (Reference from Embassy of Brazil in Lima, Peru) and 5 days to process. The reciprocity, however, also frequently applies to visa validity: US citizens can be granted visas valid up to 10 years and, likewise, Canadian citizens for up to 5.<br />
<br />
* Tourist visas (including those granted on the spot in immigration control, as for most Europeans) can be extended at any office of the ''Policia Federal''. All state capitals, and most border towns and international ports have one. Tourist visas only be extended once, for a maximum of 90 days, and under no circumstances can you be granted more than 180 days with a tourist visa for any 365-day period. You should contact the federal police about 1 week before your visa expires. The handling fee is currently R$ 67 (Oct. 2008). You may be asked for an outbound ticket (book '''a fully refundable''' one on the internet, then cancel when your visa is extended), and a proof of subsistance (for which your credit card is mostly accepted.) In order to apply for the extension, you must fill out the [https://www2.dpf.gov.br/gru/gru?nac=1 Emissão da Guia de Recolhimento] on the Federal Police website, which you will carry to the Banco do Brasil in order to pay the fee. Do not pay the fee until you have spoken with a federal police officer about your case. If she/he denies the extension of your visa, you must have a bank account in Brazil in order to receive a refund.<br />
[[Image:Stampbrazil.jpg|300px|right]]<br />
<br />
*The requirement to first enter Brazil within 90 days of the issue of the visa now only applies to nationals of Angola, Bahrain, Burma, Cambodia, Cape Verde, China, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, The Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Syria, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, and Tunisia. '''Failure to enter Brazil within 90 days will invalidate the visa, no matter how long it is otherwise valid for.'''<br />
<br />
{{infobox|Entry vs. exit stamps|Immediately after your passport is stamped by the Brazilian Federal Police, ensure that the last number on the right-end of the stamp is a 1. A number 1 indicates that you entered the country and a number 2 indicates that you exited. Some federal police officers have mistakenly given foreigners the number 2 stamp upon entering. If you have the number 2 stamp and try to extend the visa in a city that is not your port of entry, you will be told to return to the city where you received the incorrect stamp so that it may be corrected before you can receive the extension.}}<br />
<br />
* By law you are required to produce your outbound ticket upon entry, but this is only enforced in exeptional cases. Even if you are asked, you could often get away with explaining that you are taking the bus to Argentina, and couldn´t buy the ticket in, say, Europe.<br />
<br />
* If you overstay your tourist visa, you will be fined R$8.28 per day (as of October 2007), for a maximum of 100 days. This means that even if you stay illegally for 5 years, the fine will never exceed R$828. You will be made to pay this at the border crossing. As this can take time, it could be wise to do it a few days up front at a federal police office, especially if you have a domestic to international flight connection. The federal police will then give you 8 days to get out of the country. If you don´t pay your fine upon exiting, you will have to pay the next time you enter. The fact that you have been fined for overstaying in the past does not normally imply future difficulties with immigration, but you´d better keep all receipts and old passports for reference. <br />
<br />
* If you want to enter/exit the country for some reason without coming in contact with the immigration authorities, there are numerous tiny border towns that have virtually no control. You will perhaps be told by the local police (who don´t have stamps or computer registers for immigration) to contact the federal police in such and such nearby town.<br />
<br />
*When you are travelling from certain tropical regions to Brazil you need a yellow fever vaccination and the certificate showing you had this. Note that '''it is illegal''' to bring in animals, meat, dairy, seeds, plants, eggs, honey, fruit, or any kind of non-processed food without a permit. Contact [vigiagro@agricultura.gov.br] for more information.<br />
<br />
===By plane===<br />
<br />
The cheapest airfares are from February (after Carnaval) to May and from August to November. Tickets from [[New York City|New York]], for instance, can cost as little as US$699 including taxes. Many undersubscribed flights within Brazil can be had for bargain prices.<br />
<br />
By far the largest international airport in Brazil is '''São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport''' ({{IATA|GRU}} {{ICAO|SBGR}}), the hub of '''TAM airlines''' [http://www.tamairlines.com], which has direct flights to many capital cities in [[South America]]. Other direct flights include:<br />
North America: [[New York City|New York]], [[Chicago]], [[Detroit]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Miami]], [[Atlanta]], [[Houston]], [[Dallas]], and [[Toronto]]. <br />
Europe: [[Lisbon]] by TAP, [[Madrid]] by Iberia, [[Amsterdam]] and [[Paris]] by KLM-Air France, [[London]] by British Airways, [[Frankfurt]] and [[Munich]] by Lufthansa, [[Istanbul]] by Turkish Airlines.<br />
Asia: [[Seoul]] by Korean Air, [[Tel Aviv]] by ELAL, [[Doha]] by Qatar Airways, and [[Dubai]] by Emirates. <br />
<br />
The second largest airport in Brazil is '''Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport''', ({{IATA|GIG}} {{ICAO|SBGL}}) the home of '''Gol Transportes Aéreos''' [http://www.voegol.com.br/INT/], which flies to many regional destinations including [[Montevideo]], [[Buenos Aires]] and [[Asuncion]]. Other direct flights include:<br />
North America: Delta Air Lines flies to [[Atlanta]], and [[New York City|New York]], US Airways flies to [[Charlotte]], and United Airlines to [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Houston]].<br />
Africa: Taag Angola to [[Luanda]] about 3 times a week.<br />
Europe: [[Paris]] by Air France, [[Rome]] by Alitalia, [[London]] by British Airways, [[Madrid]] by Iberia, [[Amsterdam]] by KLM, [[Frankfurt]] by Lufthansa, [[Lisbon]] and [[Porto]] by TAP Portugal, [[Istanbul]] by Turkish Airlines. <br />
<br />
<br />
The Northeastern capitals have slightly shorter flying times to Europe and North America:<br />
<br />
[[Natal]]: Direct flights to [[Lisbon]] by TAP, [[Amsterdam]] by Arkefly.<br />
<br />
[[Recife]]: Direct flights to [[Lisbon]] by TAP, [[Madrid]] by Iberia, [[Atlanta]] by Delta, [[Miami]] by American Airlines and [[Frankfurt]] by Condor.<br />
<br />
[[Fortaleza]]: Direct flights to [[Lisbon]] by TAP, [[Madrid]] by Iberia, [[Cabo Verde]] by TACV, and [[Italy]] by Air Italy.<br />
<br />
In addition to the above, TAP flies directly to [[Salvador]], [[Brasilia]], [[Belo Horizonte]], [[Campinas]], [[Porto Alegre]]. TAP Portugal [http://www.flytap.com] is the foreign airline with most destinations in Brazil, from [[Lisbon]] and [[Porto]], and provides extensive connection onwards to Europe and Africa.<br />
<br />
Air travel in Brazil has increased exponentially in the past few years, partly as a result of the poor condition of many Brazilian roads(qv)and the absence of any viable railroad network (cf India). It is still relatively inexpensive with bargains sometimes available and easily the best option for long distance travel within the country. Some major aiports, particularly those in Sao Paulo and Rio, are, however, becoming very congested.<br />
<br />
===By car===<br />
The main border crossings are at:<br />
* with '''Uruguay''': [[Chuy]]/[[Chuí]], [[Bella Unión]]/[[Barra do Quaraí]], [[Artigas]]/[[Quaraí]], [[Aceguá]]/[[Aceguá]], [[Río Blanco]]/[[Jaguarão]], and between [[Rivera]]/[[Santana do Livramento]] <br />
* with '''Argentina''': [[Paso de los Libres]]/[[Uruguaiana]], [[Santo Tomé]]/[[São Borja]], [[Bernardo de Irigoyen]]/[[Dionísio Cerqueira]], [[Tobuna]]/[[Paraíso]] ([[Santa Catarina]]), [[Comandante Andresito]]/[[Capanema]], and between [[Puerto Iguazu]]/[[Foz do Iguaçu]]<br />
* with '''Paraguay''': [[Ciudad del Este]]/[[Foz do Iguaçu]], [[Salto del Guaira]]/[[Guaíra]], and between [[Pedro Juan Caballero]]/[[Ponta Porã]] <br />
* with '''Bolivia''': [[Puerto Suarez]]/[[Corumbá]], [[Cobija]]/[[Brasileia]]/[[Epitaciolandia]], [[San Matías]]/[[Cáceres]] and between [[Riberalta]]/[[Guayaramerin]]/[[Guajará-Mirim]] (the bridge over Mamoré river will be ready in 2007) <br />
* with '''Peru''': [[Iñapari]]/[[Assis Brasil]]<br />
* with '''Colombia''': [[Letícia]]/[[Tabatinga]] No road connections on either side of the border.<br />
* with '''Guyana''': [[Lethem]]/[[Bonfim]]<br />
<br />
In certain border towns, notably [[Foz do Iguaçu]]/[[Ciudad del Este]]/[[Puerto Iguazu]], you do not need entry/exit stamps or other formalities for a daytrip into the neighbouring country. These same towns are good venues if you for some reason want to cross without contact with immigration authorities.<br />
<br />
===By bus===<br />
Long-distance bus service connects Brazil to its neighboring countries. The main capitals linked directly by bus are [[Buenos Aires]], [[Asunción]], [[Montevideo]], [[Santiago de Chile]], and [[Lima]]. Direct connections from the first three can also be found easily, but from Lima it might be tricky, though easily accomplished by changing at one of the others. Those typically go to [[São Paulo]], though [[Pelotas]] has good connections too. It should be kept in mind that distances between Sāo Paulo and any foreign capitals are significant, and journeys on the road may take up to 3 days, depending on the distance and accessibility of the destination. The national land transport authority has listings[https://appweb.antt.gov.br/transp/linha_internacional.asp] on all operating international bus lines, and BuscaOnibus (english version) [http://www.buscaonibus.com.br/en] is great to find bus times and prices for most destinations in Brazil. Green Toad Bus [http://www.greentoadbus.com] offers bus passes between Brazil and neighbouring countries as well as around Brazil itself.<br />
<br />
===By boat===<br />
<br />
Amazon river boats connect northern Brazil with Peru, Venezuela and Colombia. The ride is a gruelling 12 days upriver though.<br />
From [[French_Guiana|French Guiana]], you can cross the river ''Oyapoque'', which takes about 15 minutes.<br />
<br />
===By train===<br />
Train service within Brazil is almost nonexistent. However, there are exceptions to the rule, including the ''Trem da Morte'', or Death Train, which goes from [[Santa Cruz (city, Bolivia)|Santa Cruz]], [[Bolivia]], to a small town just over the border from [[Corumba|Corumbá]] in the State of [[Mato Grosso do Sul]]. There is still a train line from there all the way to [[São Paulo]] which at the moment is not in use, but bus connections to São Paulo via the state capital, [[Campo Grande]], are plentiful. The journey itself is reputedly replete with robbers who might steal your backpack or its contents but security has been increased recently and the journey can be made without much difficulty. It goes through the Bolivian agricultural belt and along the journey one may see a technologically-averse religious community which resembles the USA's Amish in many ways.<br />
<br />
==Get around==<br />
<br />
===By plane===<br />
{{infobox|Brazil Air Pass|If you intend to visit various cities within Brazil, you should consider getting a Brazil Air Pass, offered by TAM or Gol&amp;mdash; you purchase between 4 and 9 flight tickets which can be used at any time for any destination within Brazil served by the airline. A typical 4-ticket pass starts at around US$580 while a full 9 tickets will run around US$1150. In addition, Gol also offers a cheaper flight pass good for travel only within the [[Northeast (Brazil)|Northeast]] of the country. These passes can only be obtained before arrival in the country, and you must prove that you have already purchased international return trip tickets or tickets for onward travel.}}<br />
<br />
Air service covers most of Brazil. Note that many flights make many stops en route, particularly in hubs as São Paulo or Brasilia. Most all airports with regular passenger traffic are operated by the federal ''Infraero''.[http://www.infraero.gov.br]. They have a very convenient website, with an English version. It lists all the airlines operating at each airport, and also has updated flight schedules.<br />
<br />
There are now several Brazilian booking engines that are good (although not perfect) for comparing flights and prices between different companies. They will mostly include an extra fee, hence it is cheaper to book on the airline's own site. <br />
<br />
The Brazilian airline scene completely changed at least twice over the last 10 years or so. The largest carriers are now TAM[http://www.tam.com.br] and Gol [http://www.voegol.com.br], which share more than 80% of the domestic market between them. The traditional Varig is now just another brand of Gol. Others include WebJet [http://www.webjet.com.br], Avianca [http://www.avianca.com.br], and Azul [http://www.voeazul.com.br]. TRIP [http://www.voetrip.com.br/] has short-haul flights to smaller airports throughout the country, and Pantanal [http://www.voepantanal.com.br/] and Puma [http://www.pumaair.com.br/] are growing in the same segment. Portuguese TAP [http://www.flytap.com] has a few domestic code shares with TAM. There are also a number of regional companies, such as NHT [http://www.voenht.com.br/#]([[Rio Grande do Sul]] and [[Santa Catarina]]). Price differences, at least if a ticket is purchased on the internet well in advance, are so small that it´s rather meaningless to call any of these &quot;low cost&quot;, although WebJet and Azul have lately been a notch cheaper for domestic flights. <br />
<br />
Booking on the domestic carriers' sites can be frustrating for non-Brazilian citizens. Often, you will be asked for your CPF (national identity number) while paying by credit card. Even if you -as a foreigner- have a CPF, the sites will often not recognize it. Gol now accepts international cards, but the system is buggy (Oct.2010). One trick that might work is to visit one of the airlines' foreign websites, although prices may vary. Many flights can also be found on foreign booking engines where no CPF is needed. If you book weeks in advance, most carriers will give you the option to pay by bank deposit (''boleto bancário''), which is actually payable by cash not only in banks, but also in a number of supermarkets, pharmacies and other stores. Buying a ticket at a travel agent is generally R$ 30 more expensive, noting that certain special offers only can be found online.<br />
<br />
Be aware that many domestic flights have so many stops that some, including yours, may be missing from the listings in the airports. Double check your flight number and confirm with ground staff. <br />
<br />
Certain domestic flights in Brazil are &quot;international&quot;, meaning that the flight has arrived from abroad and is continuing without clearing all passengers through customs and immigration. This means ALL passengers must do this at the next stop, even those having boarded in Brazil. Do NOT fill out a new immigration form, but show what you were given upon actual arrival to Brazil.<br />
<br />
===By car===<br />
<br />
Brazil has the largest road network in Latin America with over 1.6 million kilometres. A car is a good idea if you want to explore scenic areas, e.g. the historic cities of Minas Gerais, the Rio-Santos highway, or the beaches in North-East Brazil. There are the usual car rental companies at the airports. <br />
<br />
Many roads are in good condition, especially in the east and south of the country and along the coast. In other areas and outside the metropolitan regions there are also gravel and dirt roads for which an off-road vehicle can be strongly recommended. This especially applies to the Amazon area where many roads are difficult or not at all passable during the rainy season from November to March. This is why it is advisable to travel with a good map and to be well informed about distances, road conditions and the estimated travel time. Road maps of the brand ''Guia 4 Rodas'' (can be bought from most newsstands in Brazil) provide not only maps and distances but also information about current conditions of the roads. ''Cochera andina'' [http://www.latino-cars.com/] publishes useful information on almost 300 routes in the country. In theory, the driving rules of Brazil resemble those of Western Europe or North American. In practice, driving in Brazil can be quite scary if you are used to European (even Mediterranean) or North American road culture, due to widespread violations of driving rules, and the toleration thereof.<br />
<br />
Distances kept to other vehicles are kept at a bare minimum, overtaking whenever close to possible, and changing lanes without much of a prior signal. Many large cities also suffer from hold-ups when you wait at a red light in the night. Even if there is no risk of robbery, many drivers (including of city buses) run red lights or stop signs at night when they do not see incoming traffic from the cross street. Drivers also indulge in &quot;creative&quot; methods of saving time, such as using the reverse direction lanes. In rural areas, many domestic animals are left at the roadside, and they sometimes wanders into the traffic. Pedestrians take enormous chances crossing the road, since many drivers do not bother to slow down if they see pedestrians crossing. The quality of the paving is very varied, and the presence of enormous potholes is something that strongly discourages night-driving. Also consider the risk of highway hold-ups after dark, not to mention truck drivers on amphetamines (to keep awake for days in a row).<br />
<br />
* In Brazil cars are driven on the right hand side of the road.<br />
* A flashing left signal means that the car ahead is warning you not to pass, for some reason. If the car ahead of you wants to show you that it is safe to pass it will flash the right signal. The right signal is the same signal to indicate that you're going to stop on the side of the road, so it means you're going to slow down. On the other hand the left signal is the same signal to indicate you're going to pass the car ahead, meaning you're going to speed up.<br />
* Flashing, twinkling headlights from the cars coming on the opposite side of the road means caution on the road ahead. Most of the time, it indicates that there are animals, cops or speed radar ahead.<br />
* Keep the doors locked when driving, especially in the larger cities, as robberies at stop signs and red lights are quite common in some areas. You'll make it much easier for the robber if he can simply open up the door and sit down. Be equally careful with keeping your windows wide open, as someone might put their hands inside your car and steal a wallet, for instance. Leave your handbags and valuables out of sight.<br />
<br />
===By bicycle===<br />
In smaller cities and towns the bicycle is a common means of transport. This does not mean that cyclists are usually respected by cars, trucks, or bus drivers. But you may find good roads with little traffic outside the cities. It is also easy to get a lift by a pickup or to have the bike transported by a long-distance bus.<br />
Cycling path are virtually non-existent in cities, except along certain beachfronts, such as [[Rio de Janeiro]] and [[Recife]].<br />
<br />
There are a bicyclers groups around the country, e.g Sampa Bikers [http://www.sampabikers.com.br] in [Sao Paulo] which meets weekly.<br />
<br />
===By train===<br />
Brazil's railway system was mostly wrecked during the military regimes. Today there are few passenger lines left: <br />
* The Serra Verde Express [http://www.serraverdeexpress.com.br/] from [[Curitiba]] to [[Paranaguá]]. This scenic 150 km long railroad links the capital of [[Paraná]] to the coastal cities of [[Morretes]] and [[Paranaguá]], through the beautiful Serra do Mar mountains covered with ''mata atlântica'' forest. The trip takes about 3 hours and has bilingual guides. Trains leave daily at 08:15 and prices start from about R$ 50 (round-trip) - see [[Curitiba#Get_out]] for more information.<br />
* From [[São João del Rei]] to [[Tiradentes]] - This 35-minute trip on a steam train is almost like time travel. The train operates Fri-Sun, with departures from São João at 10:00 and 15:00 and 13:00 and 17:00 from Tiradentes. The round trip costs R$ 16.<br />
* From [[Belo Horizonte]] to [[Vitória]] - Daily trains operated by Companhia Vale do Rio Doce [http://www.cvrd.com.br/cvrd/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm?sid=65] leave Belo Horizonte at 07:30 and Vitória at 07:00. Travel time is about twelve and a half hours. Tickets are sold at the train stations and a single 2nd class fare costs about R$ 25. Seats are limited and it is not possible to reserve, so it is advisable to buy in advance.<br />
* From [[São Luis]] to [[Parauapebas]] - interesting because part of it passes through the Amazon rainforest.<br />
* From [[Macapá]] to [[Serra do Navio]]<br />
* From [[Campinas]] to [[ Jaguariuna]]. Part of the old Ferrovia Mogiana, which was built to facilitate coffee exports in the late 19th and early 20th century. Entertaining guides. Only at weekends and holidays. Some steam trains. Inexpensive. About 1 hr each way.<br />
<br />
===By inter-city bus===<br />
Long-distance buses are a convenient, economical, and sometimes (usually if you buy the most expensive ticket), rather comfortable way to travel between regions. The bus terminal (''rodoviária'') in cities play a role akin to train stations in many countries. You should check travel distance and time while traveling within Brazil, going from Rio de Janeiro to the south region could take more than 24 hours, so it may worth going by plane if you can afford it.<br />
<br />
Brazil has a very good long distance bus network. Basically, any city of more than 100,000 people will have direct lines to the nearest few state capitals, and also to other large cities within the same range. Pretty much any little settlement has public transport of some kind (a lorry, perhaps) to the nearest real bus station. <br />
<br />
Mostly you have to go to the bus station to buy a ticket, although most major bus companies make reservations and sell tickets by internet with the requirement that you pick up your ticket sometime in advance. In a few cities you can also buy a ticket on the phone and have it delivered to your hotel for an extra charge of some 3-5 reais. Some companies have also adopted the airlines' genius policy of pricing: In a few cases buying early can save you more than 50%. The facility of flagging a bus and hopping on (if there are no available seats you will have to stand, still paying full price) is widespread in the country. This is less likely to work along a few routes where armed robberies have happened frequently, such as those leading to the border with [[Paraguay]] and to [[Foz do Iguaçu]].<br />
<br />
There is no one bus company that serves the whole country, so you need to identify the company that connect two cities in particular by calling the bus station of one city. ANTT, the national authority for land transportation, has a search engine [https://appweb.antt.gov.br/transp/secao_duas_localidades.asp] (in Portuguese) for all available domestic bus lines. Be aware that some big cities like São Paulo and Rio have more than one bus station, each one covering certain cities around. It is good to check in advance to which bus station you are going.<br />
<br />
Bus services are often sold in three classes: Regular, Executive and First-Class (''Leito'', in Portuguese). Regular may or may not have air conditioning. For long distances or overnight travels, Executive offers more space and a folding board to support your legs. First-Class has even more space and only three seats per row, making enough space to sleep comfortably.<br />
<br />
All trips of more than 4 hours are covered by buses with bathrooms and the buses stop for food/bathrooms at least once every 4 hours of travel.<br />
<br />
Brazilian bus stations, known as ''rodoviária'' or ''terminal rodoviário'', tend to be located away from city centers. They are often in pretty sketchy areas, so if you travel at night be prepared to take a taxi to/from the station. There will also be local bus lines.<br />
<br />
Even if you have a valid ticket bought from elsewhere, some Brazilian bus stations may also require a boarding card. This can be obtained from the bus company, often for a supplement fee. If you buy a ticket in the departure bus station you will also be given this boarding card.<br />
<br />
''Rodoviárias'' include many services, including fast-food restaurants, cafés, Internet cafés, toilets and left luggage. As a general rule, the larger the city, the more expensive the services (e.g. leaving a suitcase as left luggage in a smaller city may cost 1 R$, but in Recife in might cost you 5 R$).<br />
<br />
When buying tickets, as well as when boarding the bus, you may be asked for proof of ID. Brazilian federal law requires this for interstate transportation. Not all conductors know how to read foreign passports, so be prepared to show them that the name of the passport truly is the same as the name on the ticket.<br />
<br />
===By city bus===<br />
Most cities have extensive bus services. Multiple companies may serve a single city. There is almost never a map of the bus lines, and often bus stops are unmarked. Be prepared for confusion and wasted time.<br />
<br />
Buses have a board behind the windshield that advertises the main destinations they serve. You may have to ask the locals for information, but they may not know bus lines except the ones they usually take.<br />
<br />
In most cities you have to wave to stop the bus when you want to take it. This in itself would no pose a problem, however, in big cities there may be dozens of bus lines stopping at a given bus stop and bus stops are not designed to accommodate so many vehicles.<br />
Frequently one cannot observe the oncoming buses due to other buses blocking the view. Bus drivers are reluctant to slow down for a bus stop if they are not sure someone will take their bus, so it is common to miss your bus because you could not see it coming to<br />
wave on time or the driver did not see you waving in between buses already at the stop. Some people go into the middle of a busy street to wait for their bus to make sure they see it and the driver sees them. In some places, like Manaus, drivers even tend to ignore stop requests (both to get on and to get off) if it is not too easy to navigate to the bus stop.<br />
<br />
Most city buses have both a driver and a conductor. The conductor sits behind a till next to a turnstile. You have to pay the conductor, the price of the bus is usually advertised on the windshield. The turnstiles are narrow, and very inconvenient if one carries any kind of load (try balancing a heavy backpack over the turnstile while the bus is running). Larger buses often have a front section, before the turnstile, meant in priority for the elderly, handicapped and pregnant women - you can use it but you still have to pay! Typical prices are around R$ 3,00.<br />
<br />
You can try asking the conductor to warn you when the bus is close to your destination. Depending on whether he or she understands you and feels like helping you, you may get help.<br />
<br />
In addition to large city buses, there are often minibuses or minivans (''alternativo''). You pay the driver when you go aboard.<br />
<br />
===By boat===<br />
<br />
In the Amazon region as well as on the coast west of Sao Luis, boat travel is often the only way to get around.<br />
<br />
==Talk==<br />
{{infobox|Non-verbal communication|<br />
Brazilians use a lot of gestures in informal communication, and the meaning of certain words or expressions may be influenced by them.<br />
<br />
* The ''thumbs up'' gesture is used to mean ''everything's OK'', ''yes'' or even ''thanks''. Avoid using the ''OK'' hand gesture for these meanings, as it can be considered obscene.<br />
* Wagging your extended index finger back and forth and/or clicking your tongue behind your teeth two or three times means ''no''<br />
* Using your index finger to pull down one of your lower eyelids means ''watch out''.<br />
* Stroking your two biggest fingers with your thumb is a way of saying that something is ''expensive''.<br />
* Snapping a few times means ''fast'' or ''a long time'' (''ago'').<br />
* Stroking your lips and then snapping means ''delicious''; pinching your earlobe means the same in some regions.<br />
* Making a fist with your thumb between the index and middle finger, known as the ''figa'', is a sign of good or bad luck depending on the region.<br />
* Touching the palm with the thumb and making a circular movement with the hand means ''I am being robbed/ripped off/'' in some regions.<br />
* The ''hush'' gesture is considered extremely impolite, about the same as shouting &quot;shut up!&quot; to someone.<br />
* An informal way to get someone's attention, similar to a whistle, is a '''hissing''' sound: &quot;pssiu!&quot; It is not perceived as unpolite, but gets really annoying if repeated too often.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The official language of Brazil is [[Portuguese phrasebook | Portuguese]], spoken by the entire population (except for a few, very remotely located tribes). Indeed, Brazil has had immigrants from all parts of the world for centuries, whose descendants now speak Portuguese as their mother tongue. <br />
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Brazilian Portuguese has a number of pronunciation differences with that spoken in [[Portugal]] (and within, between the regions there are some quite extreme accent and slang differences), but speakers of either can understand each other. However, European Portuguese (Luso) is more difficult for Brazilians to understand than the reverse, as many Brazilian television programs are shown in Portugal. Note that a few words can have a totally different meaning in Brazil and Portugal, usually slang words. An example of this is &quot;Rapariga&quot; which in Portugal means young girl, and in Brazil means a prostitute. <br />
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'''English''' is not widely spoken except in some touristy areas. Don't expect bus or taxi drivers to understand English, so it may be a good idea to write down the address you are heading to before getting the cab. In most big and luxurious hotels, it is very likely that the taxi fleet will speak some English. If you are really in need of talking in English, you should look for the younger people (-30 years), because they, generally, have a higher knowledge of the language and will be eager to help you and exercise their English.<br />
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'''Spanish''' speakers are usually able to get by in Brazil, especially towards the [[South (Brazil)|south]]. While written Portuguese can be quite similar to Spanish, spoken Portuguese is much harder to understand. Compare the number 20 which is ''veinte'' (BAYN-teh) in Spanish to ''vinte'' (VEEN-chee) in Brazilian Portuguese. Even more different is ''gente'' (people), pronounced &quot;HEN-teh&quot; in Spanish and &quot;ZHEN-chee&quot; in Brazilian Portuguese. Letters CH, D, G, J, R, RR, and T are particularly difficult for Spanish speakers to understand, and that's without even considering the vowels.<br />
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==See==<br />
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===Natural wonders===<br />
* '''Amazon Rainforest''' - The Amazon River Basin holds more than half of the world's remaining rainforest, and over 60% of that lies within the [[North (Brazil)|North]] of Brazil &amp;mdash; approximately one billion acres with incredible biodiversity. The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, over 40,000 plants species, 2200 fish species, and more than 2,000 types of birds and mammals. One in five of all the bird species in the world live in the rainforests of the Amazon, and one in five of the fish species live in Amazonian rivers and streams. <br />
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* '''Atlantic Forest''' (''Mata Atlântica'') - A region of tropical and subtropical forest which extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from [[Rio Grande do Norte]] state in the [[Northeast (Brazil)|Northeast]] to [[Rio Grande do Sul]] state in the [[South (Brazil)|South]]. The Atlantic Forest has a wide variety of vegetation, including the many tree species such as the iconic ''araucaria'' tree in the south or the mangroves of the northeast, dozens of types of bromeliads and orchids, and unique critters such as ''capivara''. The forest has also been designated a World Biosphere Reserve, with a large number of highly endangered species including the well-known marmosets, lion tamarins and woolly spider monkeys. Unfortunately, it has been extensively cleared since colonial times, mainly for the farming of sugar cane and for urban settlements &amp;mdash; The remnants are estimated to be less than 10% of the original, and that is often broken into hilltop islands. However, large swaths of it are protected by hundreds of parks, including 131 federal parks, 443 state parks, and 14 municipal parks, most of which are open to visitation.<br />
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* '''Pantanal''' - A vast tropical wetland expanse, one of the world's largest. 80% of it lies within the state of [[Mato Grosso do Sul]] but it also extends into [[Mato Grosso]] (as well as into portions of [[Bolivia]] and [[Paraguay]]), sprawling over an area estimated at between 140,000 and 195,000 square kilometers (54,000-75,000 sq mi). 80% of the Pantanal floodplains are submerged during the rainy seasons, nurturing an astonishing biologically diverse collection of aquatic plants and helping support a dense array of animal species.<br />
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* '''Waterfalls''' (''Cachoeiras'') - Brazil has an amazing range of impressive waterfalls of all sizes and shapes. '''[[Iguaçu Falls]]''', in eastern [[Parana]], is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world, truly a sight to see. The 353-meter '''Cachoeira da Fumaça''' in [[Bahia]]'s [[Chapada Diamantina National Park]] is the country's second highest waterfall, after the [[Amazonas|Amazon]]'s almost inaccessible '''Cachoeira do Araca'''. Other famous waterfalls include '''Caracol Falls''', in a [[Rio Grande do Sul]] state park of the same name near [[Canela]], '''Itaquira Falls''', an easily accessible 168-meter fall near [[Formosa]], [[Goiás]], and the gorge at '''Parque da Cascata''' near [[Sete Lagoas]], [[Minas Gerais]]. Aside from the nationally famous falls, in many parts of the country, particularly the [[South (Brazil)|South]], [[Southeast (Brazil)|Southeast]], and [[Central West (Brazil)|Central West]] regions, you are rarely far from at least one locally-famous, named waterfall worth a short hike.<br />
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===Architecture===<br />
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* '''Colonial architecture''' - Many cities have reminders of Brazil's colonial past, with churches, monasteries, forts, barracks, and other structures still intact. Some of the most concentrated and best-preserved colonial buildings can be found in old gold-mining towns such as [[Ouro Preto]] and [[Tiradentes]], but many other cities such as [[Rio de Janeiro]], [[Petrópolis]], [[Salvador]], [[Paraty]], and [[Goiânia]] have quite significant colonial centers as well.<br />
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* '''Oscar Niemeyer works''' - Niemeyer, Brazil's most famous architect, is a modern architectural pioneer who explores the aesthetic impact of reinforced concrete, using curves to create buildings with a unique sense of space. He is most famous for designing many of the buildings when the new capital of [[Brasilia]] was built in the 1950s, but his works literally dot the country, with major works in [[Natal]], [[João Pessoa]], [[Belo Horizonte]], [[Rio de Janeiro]], [[Niterói]], [[São Paulo]], [[Londrina]] and other locations.<br />
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==Do==<br />
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===Gay Travel=== <br />
Due to its high degree of acceptance and tolerance, gay travel is increasingly popular. Brazil hosted the first gay ball in America in 1754! Nowadays the main lesbian and gay destinations are [[Rio]], which was elected the world's sexiest destination twice, [[São Paulo]], which has the world's largest Pride Parade, [[Florianópolis]], which is the hippest gay hangout and [[Recife]] which is attracting more and more lesbian and gay tourists looking for fun and sun.<br />
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===Carnival=== <br />
The biggest party in the world takes places across the country every year, lasting almost a week in February or early March. It is celebrated in a wide variety of ways, from the giants ''boneco'' masks of [[Olinda]] and the ''trios elétricos'' of [[Salvador]] to the massive samba parades of [[Rio de Janeiro]] and [[São Paulo]]. For a ''relatively'' more subdued atmosphere, check out the university-style street party of [[Ouro Preto]] or the sporty beach party at [[Ilha do Mel]]. Don't forget to make your reservations well in advance!<br />
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===Beaches===<br />
Almost the entire coast is lined with fabulous beaches, and the beach lifestyle is a big part of Brazilian culture. Nowhere is that more true than in [[Rio de Janeiro]], with its laidback, flip-flop-footed lifestyle and famous beaches like Ipanema and Copacabana. Beaches in other areas of the country may not have the instant name recognition but are no less amazing. The [[Northeast (Brazil)|Northeast]] has jewels like [[Jericoacoara]], [[Fortaleza|Praia do Futuro]], [[Recife|Boa Vista]], [[Porto de Galinhas]], and [[Morro de São Paulo]] which bring in throngs of travellers, particularly Europeans. Landlocked [[Minas Gerais|''mineiros'']] go mingle with the rich and famous at [[Guarapari]] or dance forró in the sand at [[Itaunas]], while [[São Paulo|''paulistas'']] head for [[Caraguatatuba|Caraguá]] or [[Ubatuba]]. In the [[South (Brazil)|South]], weekend revelers flock to [[Ilha do Mel]] or [[Balneário Camboriú]], while the 42 beaches of [[Florianópolis|Santa Catarina Island]] draw in thousands of Argentianian tourists every year. Hundreds more beaches lie ready to be explored as well.<br />
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===Sports===<br />
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* '''Soccer''' - Soccer is the talk of the town wherever your are in Brazil, and the country is brimming with great teams and great players. While [[Rio de Janeiro]]'s world-famous Maracanã stadium is currently in renovations, you can still catch a game at lots of other great venues like the '''Mineirão''' in [[Belo Horizonte]] or '''Morumbi Stadium''' in [[São Paulo]].<br />
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* '''Volleyball''' - While soccer is the main sport in Brazil, is very normal to find spaces on the beaches where you can play beach volleyball, but this version of the sport possess a different code of rules than indoor volleyball (for example instead of six players, only two players are allowed to play on each team).<br />
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==Buy==<br />
Brazil's unit of currency is the '''Real''' (pronounced 'hay-AHL'), plural ''Reais'' ('hay-ICE'), abbreviated BRL, or just R$. One real is divided into 100 ''centavos''. As an example of how prices are written, R$1,50 means one real and fifty centavos.<br />
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Foreign currency such as US Dollars or Euros can be exchanged major airports and luxury hotels (bad rates), exchange bureaus and major branches of Banco do Brasil (no other banks), where you need your passport and your immigration form. <br />
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Look for an ATM with your credit/debit card logo on it. Large branches of Banco do Brasil (charging R$ 6,50 per withdrawal) usually have one, and most all Bradesco, Citibank, BankBoston and HSBC machines will work. Banco 24 Horas is a network of ATMs which accept foreign cards (charging R$ 10 per withdrawal). Withdrawal limits are usually R$ 600 (Bradesco) or R$ 1000 (BB, HSBC, B24H), per transaction, and in any case R$ 1000 per day. The latter can be circumvented by several consecutive withdrawals, choosing different &quot;accounts&quot;, i.e. &quot;credit card&quot;, &quot;checking&quot;, &quot;savings&quot;. Note that most ATMs do not work or will only give you R$ 100 after 10 PM.<br />
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In smaller towns, it is possible that there is no ATM that accepts foreign cards. You should therefore always carry sufficient cash.<br />
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Wiring money to Brazil can be done through Western Union [http://www.westernunion.com.br] transfers to be picked up at a Banco do Brasil branch in most cities, and also quite a few exchange offices.<br />
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Travellers' checks can be hard to cash anywhere that does not offer currency exchange.<br />
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A majority of Brazilian shops now accepts major credit cards. However, quite a few online stores only accept cards issued in Brazil, even though they sport the international logo of such cards.<br />
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Coins are R$0.05, R$0.10, R$0.25, R$0.50 and R$1. Some denominations have several different designs. Images from the central bank of Brazil [http://www.bcb.gov.br/?MOEDAFAM1]. And more [http://www.bcb.gov.br/?MOEDAFAM2]. Bills come in the following denominations: R$1 (being phased out), R$2 , R$5 , R$10 (still a few plastic red and blue around), R$20 R$ 50 and $100. Images from the central bank of Brazil [http://www.bcb.gov.br/?CEDCOMUM].<br />
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Starting in the first half of 2010 with the bills of 50 and 100 reais, all Brazilian bills will start circulating with a new design by 2012. You are likely to find both versions circulating together for the next few years.<br />
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===Exchange rates===<br />
The Real is a free-floating currency and has become stronger in the past few years. Especially for US citizens, prices (based on exchange rates) have increased quite a bit. As of December 1, 2011, R$1 was worth about:<br />
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*US$0.558<br />
*€0.413<br />
*£0.355<br />
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There are many federal regulations for dealings with foreign currency, trading in any currency other than Real in Brazil is considered illegal, although some places in big cities and bordering towns accept foreign money and many exchange offices operate in a shady area. In addition, exchange offices are almost impossible to find outside of big cities. Currency other than USD and EUR is hard to exchange and the rates are ridiculous. If you would like to exchange cash at a bank, be prepared to pay a hefty commission. E.g., Banco do Brasil collects US$15 for each transaction (regardless of amount).<br />
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===Souvenirs===<br />
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Similar to the rest of Latin America, hand-crafted '''jewelry''' can be found anywhere. In regions that are largely populated by Afro-Brazilians you'll find more '''African-influenced souvenirs''', including black dolls. '''Havaianas''' jandals are also affordable in Brazil and supermarkets are often the best place to buy them &amp;mdash; small shops usually carry fake ones. If you have space in your bags, a Brazilian woven cotton '''hammock''' is a nice, functional purchase as well. Another interesting and fun item is a '''peteca''', a sort of hand shuttlecock used in a traditional game of the same name, similar to volleyball.<br />
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===Shopping===<br />
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It's not a bad idea to pack light and acquire a Brazilian wardrobe within a couple of days of arrival. It will make you less obvious as a tourist, and give you months of satisfied gloating back home about the great bargains you got whenever you are complimented on your clothing. Brazilians have their own sense of style and that makes tourists - especially those in Hawaiian shirts or sandals with socks - stand out in the crowd. Have some fun shopping, and blend in. Another good reason for buying clothes and shoes in Brazil is that the quality is usually good and the prices often cheap. However, this does not apply to any foreign brand as imports are burdened by high import taxes - therefore, do not expect to find any good prices on brands like Diesel, Levi's, Tommy Hilfiger, etc. To figure your Brazilian trousers size, measure your waist in centimeters, divide by 2, and round up to the next even number.<br />
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Store windows will often display a price followed by &quot;X 5&quot; or &quot;X 10&quot;, etc. This is an installment-sale price. The price displayed is the per-installment price, so that, &quot;R$50 X 10&quot;, for example, means 10 payments (typically monthly) of R$50 each. The actual price is almost always lower if you pay in cash.<br />
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Make sure any appliances you buy are either dual voltage or the same as in your home country. Brazil is 60Hz, so don't buy electric clocks or non-battery operated motorized items if you live in Europe or Australia. The voltage, however, varies by state or even regions inside the same state. (see [[Brazil#Electricity|Electricity]] below).<br />
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Brazilian-made appliances and electronics are usually expensive or of poor quality. All electronics are expensive compared to European or US prices. <br />
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Brazil uses a hybrid video system called &quot;PAL-M.&quot; It is NOT at all compatible with the PAL system of Europe and Australia. Television began in black and white using the NTSC system of the USA and Canada, then years later, using PAL for its analogue colour -- making a totally unique system. Nowadays, most new TV sets are NTSC compatible. However, the newly-introduced digital TV standard is not compatible with that of most other countries. Digital video appliances such as DVD players are also compatible with NTSC (all digital colour is the same worldwide), but make sure the DVD region code(s), if any, match your home country (Brazil is part of Region 4). Prices for imported electronic goods can be quite expensive due to high import tax, and the range of domestic electronic gadgets is not very wide. Also, be aware that the term &quot;DVD&quot; in Brazil is both an abbreviation for the disc itself and for its player, so be specific to avoid confusion.<br />
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Although the strength of the Real means that shopping in Brazil is no longer cheap, there are still plenty of bargains to be had, especially leather goods, including shoes (remember sizes are different though). Clothes in general are a good buy, especially for women, for whom there are many classy items. Street markets, which are common, are also a very good option, but avoid brand names like &quot;Nike&quot; - you will pay more and it's probably fake. Don't be afraid to &quot;feel&quot; an item. If it doesn't feel right, most likely it isn't! Beware of the dreaded &quot;Made in China&quot; label. If there's none, it's probably Brazilian, but be aware: some Brazilian-made products are less robust than their American or European counterparts.<br />
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==Eat==<br />
===Cuisine===<br />
Brazil's cuisine is as varied as its geography and culture. On the other hand, some may find it an unrefined melange, and everyday fare can be bland and monotonous. While there are some quite unique dishes of regional origin, many dishes were brought by overseas immigrants and have been adapted to local tastes through the generations. Italian and Chinese food in Brazil can often be as baffling as Amazonian fare.<br />
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Brazil's national dish is '''feijoada''', a hearty stew made of black beans, pork (ears, knuckles, chops, sausage) and beef (usually dried). It's served with rice, garnished with collard greens and sliced oranges. It's not served in every restaurant; the ones that serve it typically offer it on Wednesdays and Saturdays. A typical mistake made by tourists is to eat too much ''feijoada'' upon first encounter. This is a heavy dish &amp;mdash; even Brazilians usually eat it parsimoniously. <br />
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The standard Brazilian set lunch is called ''prato feito'', with its siblings ''comercial'' and ''executivo''. Rice and brown beans in sauce, with a small steak. Sometimes farofa, spaghetti, vegetables and French fries will come along. Beef may be substituted for chicken, fish or others.<br />
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Excellent '''seafood''' can be found in coastal towns, especially in the [[Northeast (Brazil)|Northeast]].<br />
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Brazilian snacks, ''lanches'' (sandwiches) and ''salgadinhos'' (most anything else), include a wide variety of pastries. Look for '''coxinha''' (deep-fried, batter-coated chicken), '''empada''' (a tiny pie, not to be confused with the empanada - empadas and empanadas are entirely different items), and '''pastel''' (fried turnovers). Another common snack is a '''misto quente''', a pressed,toasted ham-and-cheese sandwich. '''Pão-de-queijo''', a roll made of manioc flour and cheese, is very popular, especially in [[Minas Gerais]] state - pão-de-queijo and a cup of fresh Brazilian coffee is a classic combination.<br />
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===Regional cuisines===<br />
* '''Southern''' - ''Churrasco'' is Brazilian barbecue, and is usually served &quot;rodizio&quot; or &quot;espeto corrido&quot; (all-you-can-eat). Waiters carry huge cuts of meat on steel spits from table to table, and carve off slices onto your plate (use the tongs to grab the meat slice and don't touch the knife edge with your silverware to avoid dulling the edge). Traditionally, you are given a small wooden block colored green on one side and red on the other. When you're ready to eat, put the green side up. When you're too stuffed to even tell the waiter you've had enough, put the red side up... ''Rodizio'' places have a buffet for non-meaty items; beware that in some places, the desserts are not considered part of the main buffet and are charged as a supplement. Most churrasco restaurants (''churrascarias'') also serve other types of food, so it is safe to go there with a friend that is not really fond of meat. While churrascarias are usually fairly expensive places (for Brazilian standards) in the North, Central and the countryside areas of the country they tend to be much cheaper then in the South and big cities, where they are frequented even by the less affluent.<br />
* '''Mineiro''' is the &quot;miner's&quot; cuisine of [[Minas Gerais]], based on pork and beans, with some vegetables. Dishes from Goiás are similar, but use some local ingredients such as ''pequi'' and ''guariroba''. Minas Gerais cuisine if not seen as particularly tasty, has a &quot;homely&quot; feel that is much cherished.<br />
* The food of '''Bahia''', on the northeast coast has its roots across the Atlantic in East Africa and Indian cuisine. Coconut, dende palm oil, hot peppers, and seafood are the prime ingredients. Tip: hot (&quot;quente&quot;) means lots of pepper, cold (&quot;frio&quot;) means less or no pepper at all. If you dare to eat it ''hot'' you should try ''acarajé'' (prawn-filled roasties) and vatapá (drinkable black beans soup).<br />
* [[Espírito Santo]] and [[Bahia]] have two different versions of ''moqueca'', a delightful tomato-based seafood stew prepared in a special type of clay pot.<br />
* [[North (Brazil)|Amazonian]] cuisine draws from the food of the indigenous inhabitants, including various exotic fish and vegetables. There is also a stupendous variety of tropical fruits.<br />
* [[Ceará]]'s food has a great sort of seafood, and is known to have the country's best crab. It's so popular that literally every weekend thousands of people go to '''Praia do Futuro''' in Fortaleza to eat fried fish and crabs (usually followed by cold beer).<br />
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Brazilian cuisine also has a lot of imports:<br />
* '''Pizza''' is very popular in Brazil. In Sāo Paulo, travellers will find the highest rate of pizza parlours per inhabitant in the country. The variety of flavours is extremely vast, with some restaurants offering more than 100 types of pizza. It is worth noting the difference between the European &quot;mozzarella&quot; and the Brazilian &quot;mussarela&quot;. They differ in flavor, appearance and origin but buffalo mozzarella (&quot;mussarela de búfala&quot;) is also often available. The Brazilian &quot;mussarela&quot;, which tops most pizzas, is yellow in color and has a stronger taste. In some restaurants, particularly in the South, pizza has no tomato sauce. Other dishes of Italian origin, such as '''macarrão''' (macaroni), '''lasanha''' and others are also very popular.<br />
* Middle-eastern and '''Arab''' (actually [[Lebanon|Lebanese]]) food is widely available. Most options offer high quality and a big variety. Some types of middle-eastern food, such as ''quibe'' and ''esfiha'' have been adapted and are available at snack stands and fast food joints nation-wide. You can also find shawarma (kebabs) stands, wich brazilians calls &quot;churrasco grego&quot; (Greek Barbecue)<br />
* São Paulo's '''Japanese''' restaurants serve up lots of tempura, yakisoba, sushi and sashimi. The variety is good and mostly the prices are very attractive when compared to Europe, USA and Japan. Most Japanese restaurants also offer the ''rodizio'' or ''buffet'' option, with the same quality as if you ordered from the menu. Sometimes, however, it can be quite a departure from the real thing. The same can be said of [[China|Chinese]] food, again with some variations from the traditional. Cheese-filled spring rolls, anyone.Japanese restaurants (or those that offer Japanese food) are much commoner than Chinese and can be found in many Brazilian cities, especially in the state of São Paulo.<br />
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===Restaurants===<br />
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* ALL restaurants will add a 10% service charge on the bill, and this is all the tip a Brazilian will ever pay. It is also what most waiters survive on, but it is not mandatory and you may choose to ignore it, although is considered extremely rude to do it. In some tourist areas you might be tried for extra tip. Just remember that you will look like a complete sucker if you exaggerate, and stingy and disrespectful if you don't tip. 5-10 Reais are considered good tips.<br />
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* There are two types of self-service restaurants,sometimes with both options available in one place: all-you-can-eat buffets with barbecue served at the tables, called '''rodízio''', or a price per weight ('''por quilo'''), very common during lunchtime throughout Brazil. Load up at the buffet and get your plate on the scales before eating any. In the South there's also the traditional Italian &quot;galeto&quot;, where you're served different types of pasta, salads, soups and meat (mostly chicken) at your table.<br />
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* Customers are allowed by law to visit the kitchen and see how the food is being handled, although this is extremely uncommon and doing so will probably be considered odd and impolite. <br />
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* Some Brazilian restaurants serve only meals for two. The size of the portions might not say in the menu, -ask the waiter. Most restaurants of this category allow for a &quot;half-serving&quot; of such plates (''meia-porção''), at 60-70% of the price. Also, couples at restaurants often sit side-by-side rather than across from each other; observe your waiter's cues or express your preference when being seated. <br />
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* Fast food is also very popular, and the local takes on hamburgers and hot-dogs (&quot;cachorro-quente&quot;, translated literally) are well worth trying. Brazilian sandwiches come in many varieties, with ingredients like mayonnaise, bacon, ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato, corn, peas, raisins, french fries, ketchup, eggs, pickles, etc. Brave eaters may want to try the traditional complete hot dog (just ask for a ''completo''), which, aside from the bun and the sausage, will include everything on display. The ubiquitous ''X-Burger'' (and its varieties X-Salad, X-Tudo, etc.) is not as mysterious as it sounds: the pronunciation of the letter &quot;X&quot; in Portuguese sounds like &quot;cheese&quot;, hence the name.<br />
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* Large chains: The fast-food burger chain ''Bob's'' is found nationwide and has been around in the country for almost as long as McDonald's. There is also a national fast-food chain called ''Habib's'' which despite the name serves pizza in addition to Arabian food (and the founder is Portuguese, by the way). Recent additions, though not as widespread, are Burger King and Subway.<br />
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==Drink==<br />
===Alcohol===<br />
Brazil's national booze is '''cachaça''' (''cah-shah-sah'', also known as ''aguardente'' (&quot;burning water&quot;) and ''pinga''), a 40% sugar-cane liquor known to knock the unwary out quite quickly. It can be tried in virtually every bar in the country. Famous producing regions include [[Minas Gerais]], where there are tours of distilleries, and the city of [[Paraty]]. [[Pirassununga]] is home to Caninha 51, Brazil's best-selling brand. Outside [[Fortaleza]] there is a cachaça museum (''Museu da Cachaça'') where you can learn about the history of the Ypioca brand. <br />
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Drinking cachaça straight, or stirring in only a dollop of honey or a bit of lime juice, is a common habit on the Northeast region of the country, but the strength of cachaça can be hidden in cocktails like the famous '''caipirinha''', where it is mixed with sugar, lime juice and ice. Using vodka instead of cachaça is nicknamed '''caipiroska''' or '''caipivodka'''; with white rum, it's a '''caipiríssima'''; and with sake it's a '''caipisaque''' (not in every region). Another interesting concoction is called '''capeta''' (&quot;devil&quot;), made with cachaça, condensed milk, cinnamon, guarana powder (a mild stimulant), and other ingredients, varying by region. If you enjoy fine brandy or grappa, try an '''aged cachaça'''. Deep and complex, this golden-coloured spirit is nothing like the ubiquitous clear liquor more commonly seen. A fun trip is to an &quot;alambique&quot; - a local distillery, of which there are thousands throughout the country - not only will you be able to see how the spirit is made from the raw cane sugar, you will probably also get a better price.<br />
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Well worth a try is Brazilian whisky! It's actually 50% imported scotch - the malt component -and approximately 50% Brazilian grain spirit. Don't be misled by American sounding names like &quot;Wall Street&quot;. It is not bourbon. Good value for money and indistinguishable from common British blends. <br />
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While '''imported alcohol''' is very expensive, many international brands are produced under license in Brazil, making them widely available, and fairly cheap. You can buy booze in the tax-free after landing at Brazilian airports, but it generally is more expensive than buying it outside the airports.<br />
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===Beer===<br />
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'''Beer''' in Brazil has a respectable history because of the German immigrants. Most Brazilian beer brands tend to be way less thick and bitter than German, Danish or English beer. More than 90% of all beer consumed in Brazil is Pilsner, and it is usually drunk very cold (at a temperature below 0ºC). The most popular domestic brands are '''Brahma''', '''Antarctica''', and '''Skol'''. Traditional brands include '''Bohemia''', '''Caracu - a stout -''', '''Original''' and '''Serra Malte - another stout -''', they are easily found in bars and are worth trying but are usually more expensive than the popular beers. There are also some national premium beers that are found only in some specific bars and supermarkets; if you want to taste a good Brazilian beer, search for '''Baden Baden''', '''Colorado''', '''Eisenbahn''', '''Petra''', '''Theresopolis''' and others. There are also some international beers produced by national breweries like Heineken and Stella Artois and have a slightly different taste if compared with the original beers. <br />
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There are two ways of drinking beer in bars: draft or bottled beer. Draft lager beer is called '''chope''' or '''chopp''' ('SHOH-pee'), and is commonly served with one inch of foam, but you can make a complaint to the bartender if the foam is consistently thicker than that. In bars, the waiter will usually collect the empty glasses and bottles on a table and replace them with full ones, until you ask him to stop, in a &quot;tap&quot; charging system. In the case of bottled beer, bottles (600ml or 1l) are shared among everyone at the table and poured in small glasses, rather than drunk straight from the bottle. Brazilians like their beer nearly ice-cold - hence, to keep the temperature down, bottles of beer are often kept in an insulated polystyrene container on the table.<br />
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===Wine===<br />
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[[Rio Grande do Sul]] is the leading '''wine''' production region. There are a number of wine-producing farms that are open to visitors and wine tasting, and wine cellars selling wine and fermented grape juice. One of these farms open to visitors is '''Salton Winery''' [http://www.salton.com.br], located in the city of Bento Gonçalves. The '''São Francisco Valley''', along the border of the states of [[Pernambuco]] and [[Bahia]], is the country's newest wine-producing region. Brazilian wines are usually fresher, fruitier and less alcoholic than, for instance, French wines. Popular brands like ''Sangue de Boi'', ''Canção'' and ''Santa Felicidade'' and others with prices below R$ 6.00 are usually seen as trash. <br />
<br />
In [[Minas Gerais]], look for ''licor de jabuticaba'' (jabuticaba liquor) or ''vinho de jabuticaba'' (jabuticaba wine), an exquisite purple-black beverage with a sweet taste. ''Jabuticaba'' is the name of a small grape-like black fruit native to Brazil.<br />
<br />
===Coffee and tea===<br />
Brazil is known world-wide for its high-quality strong coffee. ''Café'' is so popular that it can name meals (just like ''rice'' does in China, Japan and Korea): breakfast in Brazil is called ''café da manhã'' (morning coffee), while ''café com pão'' (coffee with bread) or ''café da tarde'' (afternoon coffee) means a light afternoon meal. ''Cafezinho'' (small coffee) is a small cup of strong, sweetened coffee usually served after meals in restaurants (sometimes for free, just ask politely). Bottled filtered coffee is being replaced by stronger espresso cups in more upscale restaurants. <br />
<br />
'''Chá''', or tea in Portuguese, is most commonly found in its ''Assam'' version (orange, light coloured). Some more specialised tea shops and cafés will have Earl Gray and green tea available as well.<br />
<br />
'''Mate''' is an infusion similar to tea that is very high in caffeine content. A toasted version, often served chilled, is consumed all around the country, while '''Chimarrão''' (incidentally called mate in neighbouring Spanish-speaking countries) is the hot, bitter equivalent that can be found in the south and is highly appreciated by the ''gaúchos'' (Rio Grande do Sul dwellers). '''Tererê''' is a cold version of Chimarrão, common in [[Mato Grosso do Sul]] and [[Mato Grosso]] state.<br />
<br />
===Soft drinks===<br />
Nothing beats '''coconut water''' (água de coco) on a hot day.(Stress the first ''o'', otherwise it will come out as &quot;poo&quot;! (cocô) ). It is mostly sold as ''coco gelado'' in the coconut itself, drunk with a straw. Ask the machete-wielding vendors to cut the coconut in half so that you can eat the flesh after drinking the water.<br />
<br />
If you want a '''Coke''' in Brazil, ask for ''coca'' or ''coca-cola'', as &quot;cola&quot; means &quot;glue&quot;, in Portuguese.<br />
<br />
'''Guaraná;''' is a carbonated soft drink made from the ''guaraná'' berry, native to the Amazon area. The major brands are ''Antarctica'' and ''Kuat'', the latter owned by Coke. ''Pureza'' is a lesser known guaraná soft drink specially popular in [[Santa Catarina]]. There is also a &quot;Guaraná Jesus&quot; that is popular in [[Maranhão]]. Almost all regions in Brazil feature their own local variants on guaraná, some which can be quite different from the standard &quot;Antartica&quot; in both good and bad ways. If traveling to Amazonas, be sure to try a cold &quot;Baré,&quot; which due to its huge popularity in Manaus was purchased by Antartica and is becoming more available throughout northern Brazil.<br />
<br />
'''Tubaína''' is a carbonated soft drink once very popular among Brazilians (particularly the ones born in the 70s, 80s and early 90s) and becoming extremely hard to find. It was once mass produced by &quot;Brahma&quot; before it became focused on beers only. If you happen to find a place that sells it, try it.<br />
<br />
'''Mineirinho''' is also a popular soft drink made of guaraná and a typical Brazilian leaf called Chapéu de Couro. Although most Brazilians says that it tastes like grass, older people (+70 years) claim that the drink has medicinal proprieties.<br />
<br />
===Fruit juices===<br />
<br />
Fruit juices are very popular in Brazil. Some cities, notably [[Rio de Janeiro]] has fruit juice bars at nearly every corner.<br />
<br />
*''Açai'' (a fruit from the Amazon) is delicious and nutritious (rich in antioxidants) and can be found widespread across the nations. In the amazon region it's used as a complement to the everyday diet, often eaten together with rice and fish in the main meal of the day. Curiously outside of the amazon region, it's typically used in blended in combination with guarana (a stimulant)powder,and a banana to re-energize from late-night partying It is served cold and has a consistency of soft ice. There is also Açai Ice Creams available.<br />
<br />
*''Maracuja'' (passion fruit)(careful during an active day- this has a relaxant effect) <br />
*''Caju'' (cashew fruit) and <br />
*''Manga'' (mango) are also great juice experiences. <br />
<br />
Brazilians have great taste when it comes to mixing juices.<br />
<br />
==Sleep==<br />
High season in Brazil follows the school holidays calendar, December and January (summer) being the busiest months. New Year, Carnival (movable between February and March, see ''Understand'' above) and Holy week are the peak periods, and prices can skyrocket, especially in coastal cities like Rio and Salvador. Also, during those holidays, many hotels restrict bookings to a 3 or 4-day minimum and charge in advance.<br />
<br />
'''Hotels''' are plentiful in just about all areas of Brazil and can range from luxury beach resorts to very modest and inexpensive choices. The Brazilian tourism regulation board imposes specific minimum attributes for each type of facility, but as the 1-5 star rating is no longer enforced, check in advance if your hotel provides the kind of services you expect.<br />
<br />
'''Pousada''' means guesthouse (the local equivalent of a French ''auberge'' or a British ''boarding house''), and are usually simpler than hotels, and will offer fewer services (room service, laundry etc.). Pousadas are even more widespread than hotels.<br />
<br />
In wilderness areas like the [[Pantanal]], travelers usually stay in '''fazendas''', which are ranches with guest facilities. In small towns of Minas Gerais people are fond of '''hotéis-fazenda''' (farm hotels) where you can swim, ride, walk, play football, and camp as well as sleep in picturesque barracks.<br />
<br />
Also there is great fun in going on a '''boat hotel''' which will take you to inaccessible places on the rivers and lakes for great fishing trips or for simply relaxing and watching and photographing the wildlife which is very abundant in the Pantanal. The boats are large, safe, and comfortable with air-conditioned rooms (very necessary). Several small aluminum boats with outboard motor, carried by the boat hotel, driven by experienced fisher/guide will take 2 or 3 tourists to the best &quot;points&quot;.<br />
<br />
'''Motel''' is the local term for a &quot;sex hotel&quot;. There's no social stigma per se in staying in one, but the room service and rates are geared to adults staying for a few hours with utmost discretion and privacy. <br />
<br />
'''Youth [[hostels]]''' (''albergues da juventude'') are becoming increasingly common.<br />
<br />
==Learn==<br />
<br />
Portuguese courses for foreigners are not widespread outside the big cities. A good alternative is to befriend language students and exchange lessons. <br />
<br />
If you come to Brazil with some initial notions of Portuguese, you will see that people will treat you much better and you will get by much easier. <br />
<br />
Language schools in [[Salvador#Learn|Salvador]], [[São Paulo#Learn|São Paulo]], [[Rio de Janeiro#Learn|Rio de Janeiro]], [[Belo Horizonte#Learn|Belo Horizonte]], and [[Porto Alegre#Learn| Porto Alegre]] have Portuguese courses from 2 weeks up.<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
If you can get a job, working in Brazil is easy, mostly because there is much informality. In theory, you must have a work permit (''Autorização de Trabalho'') from the Ministry of Labor before you can get a job. However, in order to obtain it, you must be sponsored by an employer before entering the country. The company must want a foreigner bad enough to pay the government upwards of R$2000 to sponsor you, knowing also that they are required by law to simultaneously hire and train a replacement for you. Because of this, finding a legal job can be a pretty daunting bureaucratic task, even in Brazil's growing job market of today. <br />
<br />
If you are a native English speaker, you may be able to find an English-teaching part-time job, but don't expect that to save your holidays. Although working in the informal market can seem hassle-free at first, there are risks as well. The pay will be under-the-table without contract, so it will be difficult for you to claim your labor rights later. In the bigger cities, there is also the danger of being turned in to the authorities by a rival school, which may see you to a plane home earlier than you had planned. <br />
<br />
There is also a growing demand for Spanish language classes, so native Spanish speakers should have no trouble finding work, especially in the major cities. In both cases, it's always much more lucrative to find work privately rather than through schools. This can be done easily, for example by putting an ad in the classifieds section of the Veja weekly news magazine (you have to pay for it) or by putting up signs on the notice boards at universities like USP (free of charge). <br />
<br />
Refer to the Ministry of Labour website [http://www.mte.gov.br/trab_estrang_ing/default.asp] for more detailed information.<br />
<br />
==Stay safe==<br />
<br />
By law, everyone must carry a photo ID at all times. For a foreigner, this means your passport. However, the police will mostly be pragmatic and accept a plastified color photocopy.<br />
<br />
=== Crime ===<br />
Even the most patriotic Brazilian would say that the greatest problem the country faces is crime. Brazil is one of the most criminalised countries of the world, therefore the crime rate is high, even for a developing nation. Armed bandits have more recently been attacking schools, hotels and even innocent people in the streets. While in recent years, the overall crime levels are steadily decreasing, Brazil continues to have moderately high crime rates in various aspects, even with a moderate homicide rate (about 28 per 100,000 people). Of significant concern is that policemen may not always provide the best quality of assistance and even be more dangerous than the criminals itself. Lack of man power, low wages and inappropriate training contribute to a lack of professionalism. <br />
<br />
The best thing to do is to not act like a tourist, and do not display items of extreme wealth such as laptops, jewelry, etc. Also avoid carrying large amounts of money with you.<br />
<br />
==Stay healthy==<br />
<br />
Food from street and beach vendors has a bad hygienic reputation in Brazil. The later in the day, the worse it gets. Bottled and canned drinks are safe, although some people will insist on using a straw to avoid contact with the exterior of the container.<br />
<br />
Bear in mind the heat and humidity when storing perishable foods.<br />
<br />
Tap water varies from place to place, (from contaminated, saline or soaked with chlorine to plain drinkable) and Brazilians themselves usually prefer to have it filtered.<br />
<br />
In airports, bus stations, as well as many of the cheaper hotels, it is common to find drinking fountains (''bebedouro''), although not always safe. In hostel kitchens, look for the tap with the cylindrical filter attached. In more expensive hotels, there is often no publicly accessible fountain, and bedrooms contain minibars — selling you mineral water at extremely inflated prices.<br />
<br />
Vaccination against yellow fever and taking anti-malaria medication may be necessary if you are traveling to central-western (Mato Grosso) or northern (Amazon) regions. If you're arriving from Peru, Colombia or Bolivia, proof of yellow fever vaccination is required before you enter Brazil. Some countries, such as [[Australia]] and [[South Africa]], will require evidence of yellow fever vaccination before allowing you enter the country if you have been in any part of Brazil within the previous week. Check the requirements of any country you will travel to from Brazil.<br />
<br />
Public hospitals tend to be crowded and terrible. Most cities of at least 60,000 inhabitants have good private health care.<br />
<br />
Dentists abound and are way cheaper than North America and Western Europe. In general, the quality of their work is consistent, but ask a local for advice and a recommendation. <br />
<br />
The emergency number is '''192''', but you must speak Portuguese.<br />
<br />
Beware that air conditioning in airports, intercity buses etc. is often quite strong. Carry a long-sleeved garment for air-conditioned places.<br />
<br />
Although Brazil is widely known as a country where sex is freely available, it is sometimes misunderstood regarding HIV. Brazil has one of the best HIV prevention programs and consequently, a very low infection rate compared with most countries. Condoms are highly encouraged by governmental campaigns during carnival, and distributed for free by local public medical departments.<br />
<br />
==Respect==<br />
<br />
Brazilians tend to be very open and talk freely about their problems, especially about political corruption and other problems. But don't imitate them, as they are likely to feel offended if you criticize their country or customs. In some small towns, local politics can be a sensitive issue and you should be careful when talking about it. Be polite, as always.<br />
<br />
Be aware that racism is a very serious offense in Brazil. Most Brazilians frown upon racism, and even if you are only joking or you think you know your company, it is still wise to refrain from anything that can be perceived as racism. According to the Brazilian constitution of 1988, racism is a crime for which bail is not available, and must be met with 6 months to 8 years imprisonment. This is taken very seriously. However, the law only seems to apply to overt, unquestionably racist statements and actions. Therefore, be aware and be respectful when discussing racial relations in Brazil; do not assume you understand Brazil's history of racial inequality and slavery better than a Brazilian person of color.<br />
<br />
Remember that Portuguese is not Spanish and Brazilians (as well as other Portuguese speakers) feel offended if you do not take this in mind. Both languages can be mutually intelligible to a certain extent, but they differ considerably in phonetics, vocabulary and grammar. It is not a good idea to mix Portuguese with Spanish, don't expect people to understand what you're saying if you (intentionally or unintentionally) insert Spanish words into Portuguese sentences.<br />
<br />
It is also noteworthy that the Brazilians are fanatical about football (soccer) and so there are (some times violent) disputes between teams from different cities, and walking with the shirt of a team in certain areas may be seen as controversial or even dangerous. Speaking ill of the Brazilian national football team is not considered an insult, but you should never praise the Argentine team or compare them both.<br />
<br />
Brazil is open to LGBT tourists. São Paulo boasts the biggest LGBT Pride parade in the world, and most major cities will have gay scenes. However, be aware that homophobia is widespread in Brazilian society, and Brazil is not the sexual haven that many foreigners perceive it to be. Couples that in any way don't conform to traditional heterosexual expectations should expect to be open to some verbal harassment and stares if displaying affection in the streets, though several neighborhoods of many of the major cities are very welcoming of the LGBT population, and LGBT-oriented bars and clubs are common. It is best to gather information from locals as to what areas are more conservative and what areas are more progressive.<br />
<br />
====Social etiquette====<br />
<br />
* Cheek-kissing is very common in Brazil, among women and between women and men. When two women, or opposite sexes first meet, it is not uncommon to kiss. Two men WILL shake hands. A man kissing another man's cheek is extremely bizarre for Brazilian standards (unless in father-son relationships). Kissing is suitable for informal occasions, used to introduce yourself or being acquainted, especially to young people. Hand shaking is more appropriate for formal occasions or between women and men when no form of intimacy is intended. Trying to shake hands when offered a kiss will be considered odd, but never rude. However, to clearly refuse a kiss is a sign of disdain.<br />
When people first meet, they will kiss once (São Paulo), twice (Rio de Janeiro) or three times (Florianópolis and Belo Horizonte, for instance), depending on where you are, alternating right and left cheeks. Observe that while doing this, you should not kiss on the cheeks (like in Russia) but actually only touch cheeks and make a kissing sound while kissing the air, placing your lips on a strangers cheek is a clear sign of sexual interest.<br />
<br />
* In Brazil showers are long and frequent. In fact Brazil is the only country that rivals Japan in the amount of time people spend cleaning themselves<br />
<br />
* Many Brazilians can dance and Brazilians are usually at ease with their own bodies. While talking, they may stand closer to each other than North Americans or Northern Europeans do, and also tend to touch each other more, e.g. on the shoulder or arm, hugs etc.<br />
<br />
* Brazilians like to drink, especially (very) cold beer (in pubs and in hot weather) and wine (in restaurants or in the winter). However getting drunk, even in a pub, is considered very unsuitable unless you are with very good friends and everybody is as drunk as you. People go to pubs to talk, flirt and tell jokes, not essentially to drink.<br />
<br />
==Contact==<br />
===By phone===<br />
Brazil has international telephone code 55 and two-digit area codes, and phone numbers are eight digits long. Some areas used seven digits until 2006, meaning you might still find some old phone numbers which won't work unless you add another digit. (Mostly, try adding 2 or 3 at the beginning).<br />
<br />
Eight-digit numbers beginning with digits 2 to 5 are land lines, while eight-digit numbers beginning with digits 6 to 9 are mobile phones.<br />
<br />
All cities use the following emergency numbers:<br />
* 190 - Police<br />
* 192 - Ambulance<br />
* 193 - Firefighters<br />
However, if you dial 911 while in Brazil, you will be redirected to the police.<br />
<br />
To dial to another area code or to another country, you must chose a carrier using a two-digit carrier code. Which carriers are available depends on the area you are dialing from and on the area you are dialing to. Carriers 21 (Embratel) and 23 (Intelig) are available in all areas.<br />
<br />
The international phone number format for calls from other countries to Brazil is +55-(area code)-(phone number)<br />
<br />
In Brazil:<br />
* To dial to another area code: 0-(carrier code)-(area code)-(phone number)<br />
* To dial to another country: 00-(carrier code)-(country code)-(area code)-(phone number)<br />
* Local collect call: 90-90-(phone number)<br />
* Collect call to another area code: 90-(carrier code)-(area code)-(phone number)<br />
* International Collect Call: 000111 or through Embratel at 0800-703-2111<br />
<br />
Public payphones use disposable prepaid cards, which come with 20, 40, 60 or 75 credits. The discount for buying cards with larger denominations is marginal. Phone booths are nearly everywhere, and all cards can be used in all booths, regardless of the owner phone company. Cards can be bought from many small shops, and almost all news agents sell them. The ''Farmácia Pague Menos'' sells them at official (phone company) price, somewhat cheaper. Calls to cell phones (even local) will use up your credits ''very'' quickly (nearly as expensive as international calls). Calling the USA costs about one real per minute.<br />
It's possible to find all international and Brazilian phone codes on [http://www.ddi-ddd.com.br DDI and DDD phone codes]. <br />
<br />
====By mobile phone====<br />
When traveling to Brazil, even though it may seem best to carry your cell phone along, you should not dismiss the benefits of the calling cards to call the ones back home. Get yourself a Brazil calling card when packing for your trip. Brazil phone cards [http://www.nobelcom.com/phone-cards/calling-Brazil-from-United-States-1-43.html] <br />
<br />
Brazil has 4 national mobile operators: Vivo, Claro, OI and TIM, all of them running GSM and HSDPA/HSPA+ networks (Vivo still runs a legacy CDMA 1xRTT network, which is being phased out). There are also smaller operators, like Nextel (iDEN Push-To-Talk and HSPA+), CTBC-ALGAR (GSM and HSDPA in Triangulo Mineiro Region (Minas Gerais)), and Sercomtel (GSM and HSDPA in Paraná).<br />
<br />
Pay-as-you-go ('''pré-pago''') SIM cards for GSM phones are widely available in places like newsstands, drugstores, supermarkets, retail shops, etc. Vivo uses 850 MHz and 1900 MHz frequencies, while other operators uses 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequencies. 3G/HSDPA coverage is available mostly on big cities on the southeast states and capitals. Some states use 850 MHz but others use 2100 MHz for 3G/HSDPA. If you need to unlock a phone from a specific operator, this can be done for a charge in any phone shop.<br />
<br />
All major carriers (Vivo, Claro, TIM and Oi) can send and receive text messages (SMS) as well as phone calls to/from abroad.<br />
<br />
===By net===<br />
Internet cafes (''Lan houses'') are increasingly common, and even small towns often have at least one spot with more or less decent connections.<br />
<br />
An increasing number of hotels, airports and shopping malls also offer hotspots for Wi-Fi with your laptop computer. <br />
<br />
For general tips on internet while travelling, see our travel topic: [[Internet access]]<br />
<br />
===By mail===<br />
<br />
The Brazilian ''Correio'' [http://www.correios.com.br] is fairly reliable and post offices are everywhere. However, be aware that if you ask how much it costs to send a letter, postcard or package they will automatically give you the &quot;priority&quot; price (''prioritário'') instead of the normal one (''Econômico''). You might think that the priority one will make it go faster, but it isn't true; it takes as long as the normal fare, so be sure to ask for the &quot;econômico&quot; price of anything you wish to dispatch.<br />
<br />
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[[ca:Brasil]]<br />
[[de:Brasilien]]<br />
[[eo:Brazilo]]<br />
[[es:Brasil]]<br />
[[fi:Brasilia]]<br />
[[fr:Brésil]]<br />
[[hu:Brazília]]<br />
[[it:Brasile]]<br />
[[ja:ブラジル]]<br />
[[nl:Brazilië]]<br />
[[pl:Brazylia]]<br />
[[pt:Brasil]]<br />
[[ro:Brazilia]]<br />
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[[WikiPedia:Brazil]]<br />
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[[World66:southamerica/brazil]]</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Djibouti&diff=1944514Djibouti2012-10-20T18:00:39Z<p>AHeneen: Undo revision 1944435 by 66.36.196.100 (talk) does not belong at country level, no address to move to correct city page</p>
<hr />
<div>:''For the city of the same name, see [[Djibouti (city)]].''<br />
{{quickbar<br />
| image=[[Image:Moucha diver bungalows.jpg|noframe|250px]]<br />
| location=[[Image:LocationDjibouti.png|noframe|250px]]<br />
| flag=[[Image:dj-flag.png]] <br />
| capital=[[Djibouti (city)|Djibouti]]<br />
| government=republic<br />
| currency=Djiboutian franc (DJF)<br />
| area=23,000 sq km<br />
| population=486,530 (July 2006 est.)<br />
| language=French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar<br />
| religion=Muslim 94%, Christian 6%<br />
| electricity=220/240V 50HzHz<br />
| callingcode=+253<br />
| tld=.dj<br />
| timezone=UTC +3<br />
}}<br />
[[Image:Djibouti map.png|thumb|450px]]<br />
<br />
'''Djibouti''' [http://www.office-tourisme.dj/] is in [[East Africa]], bordered by [[Eritrea]] to the north, [[Ethiopia]] to the west and south, and [[Somalia]] to the southeast. The Gulf of Aden lies to the east. The country can be divided into three regions; the coastal plain and volcanic plateaus in the central and southern parts of the country and the mountain ranges in the north. Much of the country is vast wasteland with virtually no arable land.<br />
<br />
==Understand==<br />
Djibouti's climate is very hot, humid and arid, especially in the summer. The summer heat is moderated, however, by a sustained breeze in the coastal city of Djibouti. From October to April, the temperature is cooler, with occasional rain. Cyclones from the Indian Ocean create heavy rains and flash flooding.<br />
<br />
==Cities==<br />
* [[Djibouti (city)|Djibouti]] - the capital and largest city<br />
* [[Ali Sabieh]]<br />
* [[Balho]]<br />
* [[Dikhil]]<br />
* [[Khor Angar]]<br />
* [[Obock]]<br />
* [[Tadjoura]]<br />
* [[Yoboki]]<br />
<br />
==Other destinations==<br />
<br />
*'''Lake Abhe''' on the Ethiopian border is a desolate, steaming lake surrounded by limestone chimneys and a lunar-esque landscape used as the &quot;Forbidden Zone&quot; in ''Planet of the Apes'' <br />
*'''Lake Assal''' is Africa's lowest point (157m below sea level) and the saltiest lake outside Antarctica. Its shores are largely salt pans and nearby is Ardoukoba, which last erupted in 1978.<br />
* [[Maskali Island]]<br />
* [[Moucha Island]]<br />
<br />
==Get in==<br />
Visas are required by most nationals. Those travelling on [[France|French]] and [[Singapore]]an passports can get a visa on arrival for 5,000 DJF, valid for one month. Transit visas are valid for 10 days and are available on arrival at the airport to nationals of the European Union, Scandinavian countries and the USA for 10.000 FDJ (about US$55). If you plan to enter by land you have to arrange for visas in advance. Visas can be obtained from neighbouring countries and where no Djibouti embassy exists, they can often be obtained from the French embassy. The types of visas include: Entry (''visa de séjour''); Tourist (''visa de tourisme''); Business (''visa d’affaires''); and Transit (''visa de transit''). <br />
<br />
===By plane===<br />
'''Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport''' (JIB) connects Djibouti with Dubai It also has flights to [[Ethiopia]], [[Eritrea]], [[Somalia]], [[Puntland]], [[Somaliland]], [[Tanzania]], [[Egypt]], [[Madagascar]], [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Oman]] and [[Yemen]]. Air France and Djibouti-based Daallo Airlines (D3) [http://www.daallo.com]) operates flights to Paris, and Daallo also flies to Ethiopia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. The airport is 5km (3 miles) south of the city.<br />
<br />
===By car===<br />
There are roads from Djibouti to Assab (Eritrea) and going west into Ethiopia via Dikhil. Travelers using them should be aware that road conditions are generally poor and personal security might be at risk when traveling – particularly to Ethiopia. Visitors are advised to check transit regulations as political conditions in Ethiopia and Eritrea are changeable. Currently, there are no problems with traveling to Eritrea and no formal border posts. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended for the interior. There is a new highway from Djibouti to Tadjoura. Traffic drives on the right. It is advisable to carry water and petrol on any expedition off main routes. An International Driving Permit is recommended, although not legally required. A temporary license to drive is available from local authorities on presentation of a valid British or Northern Ireland driving license. <br />
<br />
===By bus===<br />
Buses operate from Djibouti to most towns and villages throughout the country. Buses leave when they are full. A minibus service operates in Djibouti, stopping on demand. A flat-fare system is used. <br />
<br />
===By boat===<br />
There are ferry services connecting Djibouti to [[Yemen]]. Djibouti City is one of the main ports of eastern Africa so it's well trafficked.<br />
<br />
===By train===<br />
Train services between [[Ethiopia]] and [[Djibouti (city)|Djibouti City]] have ceased.[http://www.seat61.com/Ethiopia.htm]<br />
<br />
==Get around==<br />
Taxis are available in Djibouti and from the airport to the town; also in Ali-Sabieh, Dikhil, Dorale and Arta. Fares can increase by 50 percent after dark.<br />
<br />
As you exit the airport, there is a big billboard displaying expected taxi fares. Look for it.<br />
<br />
Bicycling is a great way to get around the small capital.<br />
<br />
Ferry services sail daily from L'Escale (Djibouti) to [[Tadjoura]] and [[Obock]]. The journey takes about three hours.<br />
<br />
==Talk==<br />
Although French and Arabic are the official languages, Somali and Afar are widely spoken. English may be spoken at tourist facilities, but is not widely spoken by locals or taxi drivers.<br />
<br />
==See==<br />
*&lt;see name=&quot;Lac Assal&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;&quot; url=&quot;&quot; hours=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;150m below sea level, Lake Assal is the third-lowest point on Earth. You'll need to hire a car or ask someone who lives in Djibouti to drive you there. Expect a rough ride: the roads outside the capital are destroyed by the truck traffic between Djibouti and Ethiopia. The road passes within sight of the Devil's Island, and some impressive views. Expect to be awestruck.&lt;/see&gt;<br />
<br />
==Do==<br />
* '''Scuba Diving'''&amp;mdash;despite the country's arid landscape, underwater off the coast lie several reefs teaming with all sorts of life. <br />
<br />
==Buy==<br />
<br />
''Khat'': A leafy stimulant popular with the locals. The herb is flown into the country each morning from Ethiopia and arrives by truck in Djibouti's Central Market at about 1PM It is fairly inexpensive, but quality varies greatly, so shop with caution. Khat may not be taken out of Djibouti through the airport.<br />
<br />
The currency of Djibouti is the Djiboutian Franc (DJF). The Djiboutian Franc is pegged to the US dollar. As of January 2010, 1 USD = 158.5 DJF, 1 EUR = 223.79 DJF, and 1 GBP = 258.4 DJF.<br />
<br />
===Costs===<br />
May 2010: Conversion between DJF and USD is fairly stable as the DJF is tied to the dollar. You can convert dollars to francs with local street money changers located in the Djiboutian market area for 175 DJF to $1 USD. The street money changers are ladies who line the street waiting to convert USD to DJF. They are generally honest brokers. Have your calculator ready and make sure to ask in advance what the conversion rate is, if they quote you anything less than 175 go to another broker. Most all of them speak a little English.<br />
<br />
You can purchase general merchandise and food items at the larger department stores using USD and they will use the 175 conversion rate. The tourist traps will obviously see you coming a mile away and hit you with ridiculous conversion rates as well as their tourist prices. If you have access to Camp Lemonnier, go to the disbursement office for the best rate at 177.<br />
<br />
These rates have not changed since July 2009.<br />
<br />
==Eat==<br />
*&lt;eat name=&quot;Melting Pot&quot; alt=&quot;Restaurant&quot; address=&quot;Heron&quot; directions=&quot;heron, Bernard street&quot; phone=&quot;253 21350399&quot; url=&quot;www.meltingpotdj.com&quot; hours=&quot;11am-11pm&quot; price=&quot;4$-30$&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Restaurant Melting Pot Djibouti, is located few hundred m from the port. Here you can find camel meat, steaks, sushi,lobster,fish...and fresh beers. Check our website for more informations&lt;/eat&gt;<br />
<br />
<br />
==Drink==<br />
The city of Djibouti has many places to eat to include tourist traps. If you are interested in western cuisine, be prepared for sticker shock. If you are interested in good local cuisine, then you and your pocket book will be happier for the experience. For example, the Ethiopian Community Center offers a wide variety of local flares which are very tasty (safe) and reasonably priced. Best to avoid places that the tourists hang out at, and you will be happier for the experience. Average price per meal outside of a tourist trap: $4 including drink.<br />
<br />
==Sleep==<br />
<br />
==Learn==<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
<br />
==Stay safe==<br />
Natural hazards include earthquakes and droughts. Occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods.<br />
<br />
Visitors should be aware of the risk of banditry if traveling outside the capital city.<br />
<br />
==Stay healthy==<br />
Health insurance is advisable. Doctors and hospitals may expect immediate cash payment for any medical treatment. A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travelers over one year of age coming from infected areas. Cholera is also a serious risk and precautions are essential. Up-to-date advice should be sought before deciding if these precautions should include vaccination as medical opinion is divided over its effectiveness. Typhoid immunization is usually advised.<br />
Malaria risk, predominantly in the malignant falciparum form, exists year round. Resistance to chloroquine has been reported. Mefloquine, doxycycline or atovaquone/proguanil are recommended.<br />
<br />
The adult '''HIV/AIDS''' prevalence rate is currently over '''3%''' or '''1 in 33''' adults. Protect yourself.<br />
<br />
==Respect==<br />
Casual wear is widely acceptable, but visitors are reminded that Djibouti is a Muslim country and certain codes of behavior should be observed. Shorts are generally not appropriate outside of hotels, beaches, or sport activities.<br />
<br />
==Contact==<br />
The 13th French Foreign Legion Demi-Brigadeis (13ème DBLE), permanently stationed in Djibouti, consists of about 800 men. They can be contacted by the following address:<br />
<br />
adresse postale<br />
13ème DBLE - Djibouti<br />
Quartier MONCLAR<br />
SP 85030<br />
00815 ARMEES<br />
<br />
There is also a 2,000 person plus U.S. military presence in Djibouti, located at Camp Lemonier across the runway from the international airport.<br />
<br />
{{Countryguide}}<br />
{{outline}}<br />
<br />
[[ca:Djibouti]]<br />
[[de:Dschibuti]]<br />
[[eo:Ĝibutio]]<br />
[[es:Yibuti]]<br />
[[fi:Djibouti]]<br />
[[fr:Djibouti]]<br />
[[hu:Dzsibuti]]<br />
[[it:Gibuti]]<br />
[[ja:ジブチ]]<br />
[[nl:Djibouti (land)]]<br />
[[pl:Dżibuti]]<br />
[[pt:Djibuti]]<br />
[[ru:Джибути]]<br />
[[sv:Djibouti]]<br />
[[wts:Category:Djibouti]]<br />
<br />
[[WikiPedia:Djibouti]]<br />
[[Dmoz:Africa/Djibouti/]]<br />
[[World66:africa/djibouti]]<br />
{{isPartOf|East Africa}}</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Talk:Australia&diff=1944512Talk:Australia2012-10-20T17:58:29Z<p>AHeneen: /* Prostitution information */ Not really appropriate, but if needed to protect tourists out of trouble...keep it brief!</p>
<hr />
<div>==Respect==<br />
Someone that is not to tired to do it can add respect for australia. --[[User:212.247.27.92|212.247.27.92]] 17:24, 20 November 2006 (EST)<br />
<br />
==CIA World Factbook ==<br />
<br />
Hmmm... Karen suspiciously removed the military information, and I'm no longer able to invade Australia. B-) -- [[User:Evan|Evan]] 05:46, 8 Aug 2003 (PDT)<br />
<br />
lol! I'll be removing a lot more when I get around to it... :0<br />
<br />
Wikitravel should be for all travellers, including hostile invaders. --[[User:220.253.226.110|220.253.226.110]] 04:44, 6 November 2009 (EST)<br />
<br />
==Timezone==<br />
Err, Australia has a range of timezones, much the US (being the same size and all...). Seems kind of silly to put just AEST timezone there? (especially since its wrong right now with daylight savings...)<br />
<br />
== Links removed ==<br />
<br />
''The below links were removed from the main article. Do they belong on WikiTravel? -- [[User:Ilkirk|Ilkirk]] 20:51, 24 Nov 2005 (EST)''<br />
<br />
MAPS <br />
<br />
*[http://www.bepacked.com/app Bepacked] very fast accurate map of Australia GPS read out, distance tool, search for public domain data and other travel related information. <br />
<br />
*[https://www.ga.gov.au/ Geoscience Australia] Geoscience Australia is Australia's national agency for geoscience research and geospatial information. <br />
<br />
*[https://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/mapproj/se.htm Explore a Map of Australia] <br />
<br />
*The [https://www.ga.gov.au/image_cache/GA7194.pdf Map Reading Guide] is an ideal manual for a wide range of map users, and is also an excellent and simplistic introduction to topographic maps, suitable for anyone with an interest in maps. <br />
<br />
[http://www.hop.org.au/weather.htm Central Tablelands New South Wales Weather]<br />
<br />
== Other Cities ==<br />
<br />
Australia is '''the''' BIG country. It has a whole continent to itself! We cannot have every city listed here. What should be the criteria for listing? Cities with an international airport? Airport hubs? Key tourist cities? Ports? Surely it should be limited to the places an international traveler should first encounter.<br />
<br />
Other places can be pushed down to the state pages and then down to their region pages. Like I have done with [[Ararat (Victoria)|Ararat]], [[Victoria]]. -- [[User:Huttite|Huttite]] 23:01, 28 Dec 2005 (EST)<br />
<br />
Sydney has one of the world’s most cosmopolitan societies. They have an extraordinary variety of restaurants, religions, community centers and cultural activities <br />
that can be found throughout the city. Tourists have enjoyed going to the Auburn Mosque – a lavish mosque in a Turkish community, Lakemba – a living monument to Islam, Little Italy – home to the Italian community, and the Irish Parade – Held on March 17th of every year (Brass &amp; McKenzie 40).<br />
<br />
==Hitchhiking is illegal==<br />
<br />
Anyone know under what statute hitchhiking is illegal in Aust? And what the wording of the law is? [[User:Nurg|Nurg]] 01:54, 14 Jan 2006 (EST)<br />
<br />
: Sounds odd to me, I can't Google up a single reference for this. [[User:Jpatokal|Jpatokal]] 00:50, 15 Jan 2006 (EST)<br />
<br />
:: Some research I did on this subject because it intrigued me and I had heard that it was illegal in some way. What I can find is rather obscure and suggests hitchiking is legal in Australia, but you can only hitchhike while standing on a footpath. What is illegal is the standing in or by the roadway while flaging down a ride!<br />
*The Northern Territory Government website, under (Australian) Traffic Regulations, says it is an offence to '''obstruct traffic''' [http://notes.nt.gov.au/dcm/legislat/legislat.nsf/d989974724db65b1482561cf0017cbd2/905e241fcb4d15e569256f40000d4581?OpenDocument#34.%20Obstructing%20traffic] if ''soliciting ... a ride ... from within the roadway'', the roadway includes a road-related area but does '''not''' include a foot path. In other words you can hitchhike in Australia provided you stay on the footpath.<br />
*Northern Territory Police say nothing about hitchhiking being illegal, however.<br />
*Queensland Police [http://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/personalSafety/tourSafe/road_safety.htm] say ''do not hitchike'', warn drivers not to pick up hitchhikers and say it is an ''offense'' to ''hitchike from a road'' - though do not say under what law (traffic?) - which seems to imply the Northern Territory law is an Australian traffic law. <br />
*This link [http://www.letmestayforaday.com/report/?id=302] also suggests it is illegal in Queensland - which given that state's conservative nature it probably would be publicised as that anyway, whatever the law really said.<br />
This link [http://www.holiday-wa.net/VisitorInformation.asp#tips] also suggests hitchhiking is illegal in some Australian states and is strongly discouraged nationally. <br />
*South Australia Police say [http://www.sapolice.sa.gov.au/crime/crime_reduction_section/tourist_safety.shtml] ''Avoid hitchhiking'' but do not say it is illegal there. <br />
*West Australia Police [http://www.police.wa.gov.au/Services/Services.asp?BackpackSafe] say nothing about it in information for backpackers.<br />
*New South Wales say nothing about hitchhiking.<br />
*Tasmania Police websites down but Tasmania Online [http://www.tas.gov.au/] search only returns one, non-government document, which seemed to be pro-hitchhiking, probably meaning it is not illegal there.<br />
*Victoria Police and Government websites were down when I checked but as that state is hot on road safety they probably would police any hitchhiking law if they had one.<br />
*Australian Federal Police website was also down, so no ACT or national picture.<br />
::I think the conclusion I have come to, barring more authorative information, is hitchhiking is not actually illegal in Australia but it is a traffic offence to stand on or by the road when you try to get/ask for a ride, ''unless you are standing on the footpath''. If there is no footpath, you cannot ''ask for a ride'' from the roadside, though if somebody stopped and offered you a lift from the road that you were walking beside that is probably not illegal for them to do, assuming they could stop legally. -- [[User:Huttite|Huttite]] 06:48, 15 Jan 2006 (EST)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks Huttite, that's great. [[User:Nurg|Nurg]] 03:59, 16 Jan 2006 (EST)<br />
<br />
::: I notice that some websites are actually quoting Wikitravel as to the legality of hitch-hiking in Australia. This is very odd, when the above research is so flawed - checking a couple of websites, a few of which were not available. Hitchhiking (standing by the side of the road, signaling cars to stop, and then getting into them) is illegal in NSW. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 20:03, 1 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
<br />
The Australian Road Rules seem to imply that hitchhiking is legal so long as you stay off the road. This is from the most up to date version of the rules as of Dec 2011:<br />
<br />
Australian Road Rules – February 2009 version<br />
<br />
http://www.ntc.gov.au/filemedia/Reports/ARR_February_2009_final.pdf<br />
<br />
236 Pedestrians not to cause a traffic hazard or obstruction<br />
(1) to (3) deleted as they're not relevent here.<br />
<br />
(4) '''A pedestrian must not stand on, or move onto, a road to:'''<br />
<br />
(a) solicit contributions, employment or business from an occupant of a vehicle; or<br />
<br />
(b) '''hitchhike;''' or<br />
<br />
(c) to (e) deleted<br />
<br />
12 How the Road Rules define a &quot;road&quot;<br />
<br />
(1) A road is an area that is open to or used by the public and is developed for, or has as one of its main uses, the driving or riding of motor vehicles.<br />
<br />
(2) However, unless the contrary intention appears, a reference in the Australian Road Rules (except in this Division) to a road '''does not include''' a reference to:<br />
<br />
(a) an area so far as the area is declared, under another law of this jurisdiction, not to be a road for the Australian Road Rules; or<br />
<br />
(b) '''any shoulder of the road'''.<br />
<br />
(3) '''The shoulder of the road includes''' any part of the road that is not designed to be used by motor vehicles in travelling along the road, and includes:<br />
<br />
(a) for a kerbed road — any part of the kerb; and<br />
<br />
(b) for a sealed road — any unsealed part of the road, and any sealed part of the road outside an edge line on the road; but does not include a bicycle path, footpath or shared path.<br />
<br />
However, the NTC website these regulations came from say that they are guidelines only and that they are modified by local legislation. That said, I carry a copy with me when I hitch so that at least if I do get stopped by the police I can show I'm a responsible hitcher (yeah I know it sounds geeky, but who needs the hassel). I've been stopped twice in two years of hitching in NSW and Vic, both times the police told me it was illegal and moved us on but didn't fine us. In NSW they were also kind enough to point out we were hitching at the wrong end of town to get to Sydney!<br />
<br />
Happy hitching, Chris<br />
&lt;small&gt;—The [[Wikitravel:Using_talk_pages#Talk_page_formatting|preceding]] comment was added by [[User:116.250.19.65|116.250.19.65]] ([[User_talk:116.250.19.65|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/116.250.19.65|contribs]]) {{{2|}}}&lt;/small&gt;<br />
<br />
: Police have told you it is illegal twice. The road rules say you can't enter the road area for the purposes of hitchhiking (presumably also including getting into a car that has stopped on the road). You carry around a copy of the road rules, in case you are stopped again, hoping your interpretation will be accepted, and you won't end up fined.<br />
: All this is fine and good. Except for the bit where we end up a source for hitching being legal in Australia. --[[User:Inas|Inas]] 19:12, 18 December 2011 (EST)<br />
<br />
== Domestic Flights ==<br />
<br />
Can anyone recommend a site for searching cheap domestic fares within Australia? Most of the sites I'm using in America (travelocity, expedia, kayak) only know of Qantas. --[[User:DropDeadGorgias|DropDeadGorgias]] 11:09, 1 Feb 2006 (EST)<br />
<br />
:Sounds like you're after something like http://www.flightcentre.com.au/<br />
<br />
:: Like the main page says, you can only get the best fare on a flight between two points in Australia by searching all the airlines that fly there directly on their web page. To the best of my knowledge, there is no search that will give you the best fare and full availability on all the airlines that fly the route. Usually you only have 2-3 airlines to check, so it doesn't take that long. None of the discount websites offer a cheaper fare than the domestic airlines do on their websites. Check the local guides for info. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 21:23, 9 May 2010 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==Uh.... Say again==<br />
:&quot;Red Back spiders are also a major risk in Australia, people have reportedly been carried away by carpets of Red Back spiders&quot;<br />
:Yeah right. I would love to see a source for this.<br />
::This can be corroborated [http://wikitravel.org/en/Australia#Poisonous_and_dangerous_creatures here]. Alternatively, you can [[Wikitravel:Plunge forward|plunge forward]] and make any needed corrections yourself. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] 21:34, 23 February 2006 (EST)<br />
:::Since the anonymous user didn't take the bait I've removed that paragraph. To others, if something looks wrong please just go ahead and fix it, that's how a Wiki works. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] 14:27, 3 March 2006 (EST)<br />
<br />
Ha! Sounds like the &quot;drop-bears&quot;!<br />
<br />
Also in this category might be... &quot;the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) (including Jervis Bay)&quot; -- what? I don't believe it is actually officially part of the ACT? I did hear it was a separate commonwealth territory but the point is certainly moot since the ACT achieved self-government? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure enough about this that I'm going to remove the reference for now -- [[User:Stephen Mok|Stephen Mok]] 16:29, 27 May 2006 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==power==<br />
Hey - I was just wondering what the power plug situation is like in australia - i assume it is different from the american two-prong plug... might be good to include<br />
<br />
:[[Electrical systems]] -- [[User:Cjensen|Colin]] 02:26, 21 March 2006 (EST)<br />
<br />
== Globally significant cities ==<br />
<br />
Refering to the introduction. Why is Perth not listed alongside Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra. As far as I'm concerned Perth is a more globally significant city than Adelaide. Perth is larger and faster growing than Adelaide. Perth is on the Indian ocean and is closer to international capitals like Jakarta and Singapore. Adelaide faces Antartica. Not meaning to offend anyone from the beautiful city of Adelaide I just thought I'd try and get some facts and add some equality to this article. Is there any reason why Perth should not be added.<br />
<br />
== Mobile service ==<br />
<br />
&quot;Those towns that do have GSM coverage are usually served only by Telstra.&quot; - this is not completely correct as there are many towns that only have Optus coverage (I have visited and driven through many), but this above statement (modified) would be true for CDMA coverage. Information that may also be worth linking: [[http://www.dcita.gov.au/communications_for_consumers/mobile_services/mobile_phone_coverage_in_australia Mobile phone coverage in Australia]] &amp; [[http://www.dcita.gov.au/communications_for_consumers/mobile_services/mobile_roaming Mobile Roaming in Australia]] (These government sources are updated fairly often) [[User:131.172.4.45|131.172.4.45]] 09:19, 29 October 2006 (EST) ([[wikipedia:User:MrMabs]])<br />
<br />
== More on deadly animals ==<br />
<br />
&quot;The Red Back spider (easily identified by a red mark on its abdomen), is more common but not life threatening.&quot;<br />
<br />
The Red Back spider bite can be fatal. It's just no one has been killed by one for a long time because there's antivenom and the poison is slow acting. I'd in no way suggest that a red back spider bite should be taken lightly though. It's probably the equivalent of the widow spider in the US. We just have more of a sense of humour when it comes to deadly animals over here. So if it takes a day to kill you, you can get to the hospital and you'll be right. I'd suggest someone changes it.<br />
<br />
Secondly you forgot the paralysis tick. It's probably a more common one than many of the others. Though again you'll end up in hospital and they'll figure out whats wrong before you die. Couldn't find that much information on it on the internet. But from what I know unlike most ticks the ones on the east coast of Australia bring on slow paralysis over a matter of days. If untreated or not removed they can cause full respiratory failure and be fatal. Though this is far more common in animals, if you get one somewhere you don't notice it, it can do a lot of damage.<br />
<br />
<br />
It might be good to add something about the huntsman on the deadly spider bit or somewhere too. I know it's harmless, but almost all tourists when they see it for the first time assume it's the most dangerous creature in the country :).<br />
<br />
<br />
: Please [[Wikitravel:Plunge forward]]! -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] 11:24, 5 January 2007 (EST)<br />
<br />
==Weather==<br />
<br />
It would be nice to have info on weather around Australia.--[[User:209.89.209.144|209.89.209.144]] 12:13, 10 March 2007 (EST)<br />
:Current weather? Or types of weather in Australia? [[User:Jamboo|Jamboo]] 05:19, 21 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==Public transport lines==<br />
<br />
Someone has put a great deal of effort into listing every public transport route in Australia, but the main country article is really not the place for that - rather than listing every route for a country, it is more useful to list main ways into and out of a city in the city articles. The rationale is twofold: one, a user visiting Brisbane will be using the [[Brisbane]] article - they aren't then going to refer back to the [[Australia]] article to figure out how to move on. And second, listing every route for a country is difficult to maintain, and it makes the country article much less readable. Alternatively, articles are occasionally created such as [[Rail travel in Europe]] that offer detailed discussions of how to get around a particular area, and that might be a possibility for this information.<br />
<br />
I've archived the original work at [[Talk:Australia/Public transport lines]]. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 13:28, 22 April 2007 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Australia as a continent ==<br />
<br />
Although Australia is often called a continent, this is usually to discredit it as the largest island in the world......it's huge in comparison to most islands (3 times the size of Greenland).... but technically the continent of Australia also includes Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. Can we agree to drop this descriptor? There are plenty of other --- more correct descriptives to use about Australia. <br />
Thanks!<br />
[[User:216.204.20.170|216.204.20.170]] 10:02, 19 July 2007 (EDT)<br />
: In textbooks, it is classified as a continent, and I've always interpreted that as an honorific, not an attempt by rabid pro-Greenland factions to steal what rightly belongs to fair Oz. [[User:Gorilla Jones|Gorilla Jones]] 11:00, 19 July 2007 (EDT)<br />
: I'm happy enough to keep referring to it as a continent: even the strict geographical truth is not quite what [[User:216.204.20.170|216.204.20.170]] alleges in any case: New Zealand is not on the Australian continental shelf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_(continent) However, I don't claim expertise here: I've never got into so much as a calm discussion, let alone a fight, with anyone trying to deny Australia the status of an island [[User:Hypatia|Hypatia]] 09:52, 30 September 2007 (EDT)<br />
A &quot;continent&quot; is a major LAND-MASS - Not a grouping of land-masses. People often make this error. Australia has always been considered a continent. PNG and NZ are seperate to the continent of Australia (as indeed is Tasmania - seperate to the continent of Australa, but part of the political union of Australia). In the same way, the UK is seperate to the &quot;continent&quot; of Europe, but part of the EU political union. Forget political or regional groupings however when talking about &quot;continents&quot;. Continents are &quot;land-masses&quot;. Hope this helps. {{unsigned|Onthemove|13:42, 3 October 2010}}<br />
:Your description is overly-simplistic. By your definition, [[Long Island]] is not part of North America, [[Sicily]] is not part of Europe, and [[Sri Lanka]] is not part of Asia. Should we change the description of [[Europe]] to state that it is a &quot;continent plus several other non-continental islands&quot;? Doesn't that strike you as silly? We use a colloquial definition of the word here -- but do note, even if you use the geological definition of a continent, it quite properly includes all land masses on the same continental shelf, which in the case of Australia, certainly includes Tasmania, if not some of the other islands. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 15:03, 3 October 2010 (EDT)<br />
Your are correct - a clear and correct description of what the word &quot;continent&quot; means is indeed simple. YES, you are again correct, an island, seperated from a continental landmass, does NOT form part of the continental landmass - perfect example, Hawaii, whilst part of the US political union, is not part of the continent of North Amercia. Continents are LAND-MASSES, they are not political unions, economic unions or geographic unions!<br />
::Totally agree that continents are land masses, not other artificial unions. The mention of Europe forgets the fact that the word Europe has 3 distinct meanings - the continental landmass, the landmass plus UK/Ireland etc, and the European Union countries, --[[User:Dmol|Dmol]] 05:52, 24 October 2010 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== copyright for information from http://www.bepacked.com ==<br />
<br />
leomax has obtained the right to post information from http://www.bepacked.com on wikitravel.<br />
<br />
== Satellite phones in Australia ==<br />
The ''Stay safe'' and ''Contact'' sections mention renting a satellite phone may be a good idea for trips into the outback. While renting (or buying) Iridium phones might be a bit expensive, it would be good to note that in the next few months (or even weeks) [http://www.satellitephonefaq.com/thuraya/network/coverage-2008/ Thuraya coverage] should extend and cover Australia also. Thuraya is much cheaper than Iridium or even Globalstar (which is not a good option anyway at the moment due to technical problems) and would probably be the best choice for most travelers.[[User:Jamboo|Jamboo]] 09:26, 22 March 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==BYO==<br />
<br />
This article claims that BYO restaurants are important, and visitors should look out for them. Actually they are more a 1970s phenomenon, and, unfortunately, are not very common today. I tried changing this but all my changes got reverted. [[User:124.168.67.70|124.168.67.70]] 02:31, 4 May 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
* BYO restaurants are important for a visitor to understand. Try searching eatability.com.au for the THOUSANDS of results for BYO restaurants. They are still commonly found outside of expensive city restaurants. The local Thai or Chinese is more than likely BYO. Of course if you are into fine dining, you probably won't encounter BYO, but I think visitor looking to enjoy a nice wine with their meal could do worse then to seek out their local BYO restaurant. --[[User:Inas|Inas]] 23:09, 18 May 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
* I agree that BYO is much more common than indicated in the article. In Sydney in particular almost any restaurant will offer BYO that is not considered fine dining.<br />
<br />
==Barbecue restaurants==<br />
<br />
The article claims there are many bbq restaurants where one buys raw meat and barbecues it. Apart from the rare mongolian place (but where you do not actually bbq it yourself), I have never heard of such a thing in Australia. I'd love to see a list of actual places offering this! I tried changing this but all my changes got reverted. [[User:124.168.67.70|124.168.67.70]] 02:34, 4 May 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: The Phillips Foote in the rocks is famous for this. See [http://www.phillipsfoote.com.au/menus/menu.htm|this picture] for a man in from the BBQ doing exactly what is suggested. The Mosman Rower's also. Just pick your steak or chicken from the fridge, walk over to the grill, and get cooking. I've also seen the same thing around Childers in Queensland, and a few other places. It may not be common, but it certainly does exist. Phillips Foote in Sydney is certainly a place where tourist may encounter this form of dining - do not venture in without a master of the tongs... --[[User:Inas|Inas]] 02:02, 26 May 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==Counter lunch==<br />
<br />
I dispute the accuracy of the following:<br />
'''Counter lunch. If you were raised in a British household, you will know what it is to have a roast beef or lamb, potatoes and peas. Most traditional pubs in Australia offer what is called a counter lunch. For around five dollars, you can sit at the bar at lunch time and have a very hearty British meal of meat, potatoes, gravy and veggies. With a nice cold beer of course. This British influence is prevalent in a whole range of grocery store items like pasties and sausage rolls. '''<br />
<br />
Firstly, I think it is a major stretch to imply that this sort of thing is in any way common these days. And what, precisely, is a ''traditional'' pub in Australia? Standard pubs in the 1970s and 1980s offered counter lunches, true, but it is not all that common today. <br />
Secondly, the type of food described here does not sound anything like any pub meal i have ever heard of (chicken parmagiana, steaks and salad, steak and chips are more typical).<br />
Thirdly, no counter meal i have ever heard of is eaten at the bar! It is always served in the Lounge section of the building, which was set up as a restaurant.<br />
Fourthly, just how useful is this information to a traveller???? And the cost! Five Dollars?!? I don't think so.<br />
[[User:124.168.67.70|124.168.67.70]] 02:59, 4 May 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==Hitchhiking==<br />
<br />
There's no polite way to say this. The entire hitchhiking section is pretty useless and full of misleading and false information. Section reproduced below:<br />
<br />
'''It is not illegal to hitchhike in Australia though it is an offence to obstruct traffic by &quot;soliciting ... a ride ... from within the roadway&quot;. If you stay on the footpath, you're legally in the clear. <br />
<br />
'''The great distances between towns in the Outback (or inner desert regions) can make hitchhiking difficult, but many travelers have made the coast-to-coast trek. Hitchhiking is more popular along the coastal regions (between Melbourne and Sydney, for example). During the 1990s several travellers went missing after hitchhiking along this route and were found to have been murdered by a serial killer. The perpetrator of these crimes has now been imprisoned; however, if you choose to hitchhike, you should use great caution. <br />
<br />
'''The very lightly populated outback regions in Australia can provide the unique opportunity of a ride in a road train. Waits can be long and the climate harsh but the local people very warm and inviting and supportive of any venture to move around by hitchhiking (public transport is often non-existent). It is highly advisable if venturing into these regions without your own transport to carry enough food and water with you for at least a day and carry a good sun hat and warm clothes — people do die in these areas from lack of preparation. <br />
<br />
'''In most Australian cities and towns, hitchhiking is often frowned upon, which can make getting a ride extremely difficult as many Australians are not generally comfortable with the idea of allowing a complete stranger to enter their car.''' <br />
<br />
* Hitchhiking in the outback!?!? Seems pretty unlikely to me! Has any traveller/tourist ever actually done this?! Seems highly unlikely, and in any event, foolhardy.<br />
* Hitchhiking more popular in coastal regions. I dispute that it is popular. In fact, it is ''rare'' among locals and travellers alike<br />
* Then there's mention of a serial killer!! [[Ivan Milat]] was arrested in 1994. Why is that mentioned at all? Not too relevant really. Is this the world's only crime perpretrated on hitchhikers? No?? Then in that case, why is it mentioned here on this ''travel'' site?<br />
* Riding in a road train is hardly unique, as the prime mover is the standard largesize cabin found across Australia not ot mention multiple countries. And see my comments on hitching in the outback.<br />
<br />
The only bit that concurs with reality is the last paragraph.<br />
<br />
I'm reluctant to make any changes myself as I've tried that and all my edits got instantly reverted. [[User:124.168.67.70|124.168.67.70]] 16:24, 5 May 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: With all due respect, have you ever hitchhiked in Australia, or are you just basing your comments on your preconceptions? There are plenty of people who have and whose experiences seem more in sync with the current text than your version. See eg. [http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/hitchhiking-in-australia.html this girl], who says (and I quote) &quot;Once you are in the rural areas it gets a lot easier, and in the Outback it's super easy.&quot; [[User:Jpatokal|Jpatokal]] 08:08, 6 May 2008 (EDT)<br />
::She also contradicts a lot of what this page claims. She claims it very difficult outside the outback which this site does not say. She says it is virtually impossible for a male to get a ride - this site does not say that either. Most important - she is not specific about what regions she is talking about when using the term ''outback''. Not too many people actually regard &quot;outside [[Katherine]]&quot; as being the outback. But since we are quting her, I'll quote this from her: &quot;The question comes up every now and again in Australia travel forums and the answer is usually, &quot;Oh no, don't do it. Too dangerous, not enough traffic, and the backpacker killings, yada, yada...&quot;&quot; [[User:124.168.12.254|124.168.12.254]] 15:29, 8 May 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::You're not quoting that from ''her'', she gives it as the stereotypical response, and goes on to give her ''own'' opinion: &quot;All the people who have been hitchhiking in Australia for years and years and many thousand kilometres, and who met lots of great people and had a wonderful time, you never read their story in a newspaper. My story is such a story.&quot;<br />
<br />
::: And where do you see &quot;very difficult&quot; or &quot;virtually impossible&quot;? I see &quot;If you are male you will spend a lot more time waiting at the side of the road&quot; (true anywhere) and &quot;The more traffic the harder it is to get a ride&quot; (also true anywhere). [[User:Jpatokal|Jpatokal]] 04:42, 9 May 2008 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::The whole concept of hitchhiking is pretty irrelevant i reckon. I know people who used to do it years ago, and people who have done it when they are desperate, but let's face it, hitchiking isn't that safe and we shouldn't be promoting it as a way to see Australia.<br />
<br />
::::: That is as true anywhere, as it is in Australia. Risks which exist the world over, don't need to be identified specifically to Australia. If you hitchhike, there are risks that the hitchhiker is well aware of, and has accepted. The same as the plane traveller accepts the risk of falling out of the sky. We need to identify here only additional risks or peculiarities to Australia, give the facts to the traveller, and they can decide. My biggest issue is the variation in what people call the outback. Some towns like Katherine, Broken Hill, Coober Pedy, etc advertise themselves as the outback. If you have a problem, or can't get a ride in these towns, then solving the problem is as easy as camping for the night and catching a bus the next day. These towns are also on the main truck and travel routes. When people talk about hitching the outback, I think this is what they mean. This isn't what I think of as the outback, however. Away from the trucking routes, where a bus never comes and cars can be days or weeks apart on some roads. In ''that'' outback, then you need to think differently. --[[User:Inas|Inas]] 17:36, 3 December 2008 (EST)<br />
<br />
==Hitchhiking 2==<br />
<br />
I just pruned the hitchhiking section. This is what I did and why:<br />
<br />
* The great distances between towns in the [[Driving in Australia#Outback driving|Outback]] (or inner desert regions) can make hitchhiking difficult<br />
I removed this because it's blatantly misleading and wrong. Hitch-hiking is as often made easier by great distances as it is made more difficult. Having hitched the whole countrye extensively (and other countries) I know this to be true empirically.<br />
<br />
* Hitchhiking is more popular along the coastal regions (between Melbourne and Sydney, for example). During the 1990s several travellers went missing after hitchhiking along this route<br />
This is possibly true but nothing more than an opinion with no justification to support it. If it's true I suspect it's true for the following reasons:<br />
#Most Australians live in coastal regions. So everything, from hitchhiking to nose picking is more popular common and hence possibly perceived as popular in coastal regions. So what?<br />
#Hitch-hiking is most popular (and I can find literature to support this is requested) where there is poor public transport infrastructure, much distance to cover and youth in combination. For this reason I've found it to be quite accepted and common on the south coast of NSW for example, and not in retirement villages, or suburbia. <br />
#Hitching the Hume is almost certainly as popular as any coastal route! I've lost count of the times I did that (the inland rout between Sydney and Melbourne), because its fast.<br />
<br />
*During the 1990s several travellers went missing after hitchhiking along this route and were found to have been murdered by a serial killer. The perpetrator of these crimes has now been imprisoned; however, if you choose to hitchhike, you should use great caution. <br />
Stuff and nonsense. They were dumped in the Belangalo state forest which isn't on a coastal route by any measure (except perhaps when viewed from the moon where maybe). Moreover to caution people against hitchhiking because of one crazed lune that bumped a few off is no more warranted than cautioning them against visiting tourist sites because Martin Bryant killed 35 people at one (a heck of lot more than Ivan Milat - the afforementioned perpetrator bumped off). I've always had to berate people willing to hold up such incidents against hitching but not against going to school because folk Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold run around with semi-automatics at them bumping of other kids. It just makes no sense, and is misleading emotive stuff and nonsense. I can and will if asked cite all the research (which you yourself can find on-line as I have already reviewed and republished key extracts a decade ago) that concludes objectively that there is no reason to believe hitch-hiking is any more dangerous than most anything else you're doing (like drive, crossing the road, walking in town at night, visiting nightclubs, bars, hangliding, scuba diving ... you name it ...).<br />
<br />
*In most Australian cities and towns, hitchhiking is often frowned upon, which can make getting a ride extremely difficult as many Australians are not generally comfortable with the idea of allowing a complete stranger to enter their car.<br />
Says who? Again, stuff and nonsense made up by someone. Sure there's a lot of people frown on hitchhiking. A lot of them live in towns and cities. So what's new? A lot of people frown on marijuana and a lot of those live in towns and cities. Hey, a lot of people frown on leather pants and a lot of those live in towns and cities. Want to share something of relevance. And then the leap of logic that this makes getting rides difficult. I've never found getting rides particularly difficult in Australia. Almost anywhere I've hitched bar the far outback, wait times averaged in urban or populated areas to about 30 minutes. About the same as all over Europe and Asia and the U.S. that I've experienced. If you think that's difficult you need to adjust your expectations before flagging a ride. And sure that's an average of about 30 minutes. Sometimes it's 2 hours, sometimes it's 1 minute. <br />
<br />
In response then to the previous Discussion entry above:<br />
<br />
* Hitchhiking in the outback!?!? Seems pretty unlikely to me! Has any traveller/tourist ever actually done this?! Seems highly unlikely, and in any event, foolhardy.<br />
I've done it extensively and so have many other. It is, to be frank one of the most rewarding experiences I can recommend of the Australian experience. I can wax lyrical on it, but in summary I've never waited more than 3 days for a ride and I've hitched the most unlikely outback tracks and would be prepared to hitch ANY outback track if I felt like it. Sure, I know how it's done, and I know how to prepare myself but it's not nearly as bad, logistically difficult or weird as you think. Indeed it's often an outrageously positive and rewarding experience. But there's an essay in that.<br />
<br />
* Hitchhiking more popular in coastal regions. I dispute that it is popular. In fact, it is ''rare'' among locals and travellers alike<br />
This I'd concur with. Even in places where I've found it quite well accepted it's not popular. The young people mostly stopped doing it on account of Milat driven paranoias, but it still works quite well for those who do hitch. Not least of all because the roads are full of people wishing they saw more hitchhikers (me included, I pick em up whenever I see them and I can make space, heck I even gave a guy aride about 1km in suburbia not too long ago don't find many thumbs out there believe me).<br />
<br />
* Then there's mention of a serial killer!! [[Ivan Milat]] was arrested in 1994. Why is that mentioned at all? Not too relevant really. Is this the world's only crime perpretrated on hitchhikers? No?? Then in that case, why is it mentioned here on this ''travel'' site?<br />
I concur! Totally weird thing to bring up, see my arguments above. So what I say? Why not throw in some more irrelevant facts like the price of tea in China. Seems obvious to me that if the price of tea in china goes up that hitch-hiking might be a little safer because more nice Chinese folk will migrate to Australia where tea is more affordable ... ha ha.<br />
<br />
* Riding in a road train is hardly unique, as the prime mover is the standard largesize cabin found across Australia not to mention multiple countries. And see my comments on hitching in the outback.<br />
Well it's unusual. I've never ridden in road train anywhere but the North West of Queensland and by thumb. Sure it's not unique (take to its extreme that means there was one road train driven once by one person who had one experience, end of story), but I'd leave that piece of rhetoric intact conveying the relative interest many travellers might have in an experience that most travellers never have.<br />
<br />
* I'm reluctant to make any changes myself as I've tried that and all my edits got instantly reverted.<br />
Sounds like a wiki war. The conservative prats oughtn't win ;-). Let them debate it here, and prune of remove the whole danged section until there some agreement it's not just opinionated trash, but useful information. <br />
<br />
In summary, yeah, yada yada. I've hitched most of Australia extensively anything from alone as an unkempt hairy male standing 6'2&quot; to in couples, and even in a group of five (and got rides that way up into the South Australian Outback!) The stuff and nonsense written by people who have never tried, nor even tried to review the literature of hitch-hikers (and there is some out there) but just parrot social stereotypes is a little perturbing and I must and do often take a stand against it.<br />
<br />
<br />
: Totally agreed it's amazing how these editors think they know the answers to all, on the matter of hitch hiking it's clear he knows nothing. Oh these academic do-gooders!!! Careful boys when you step ou of the house!! &lt;small&gt;—The [[Wikitravel:Using_talk_pages#Talk_page_formatting|preceding]] comment was added by [[User:91.145.70.242|91.145.70.242]] ([[User_talk:91.145.70.242|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/91.145.70.242|contribs]]) {{{2|}}}&lt;/small&gt;<br />
::So fix it. This is your guide, too. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 09:38, 8 October 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Phone number consistency ==<br />
<br />
Is there any rules or notes about phone number consistency in entries? I've been browsing/editing a few South Australia related articles and there are a lot which just use the 10 digit phone numbers in one string. Some also use the (00) 1111 2222 format (which I think is better). What do you suggest?<br />
<br />
: See [[Wikitravel:Phone numbers]] and associated discussion for the policy, and feel free to join in there. Unfortunately, it is still a bit [[United States|USA]] and [[Canada]] centric, as you can't mark the part of the number you would dial in [[Australia]] like you can in the [[United States|States]] according to the policy. The [[United Kingdom]] which is the same boat as [[Australia]], seems to use the (00) 1111 2222 format fairly consistently. This seems to be a little dynamic at the moment. --[[User:Inas|Inas]] 02:26, 6 November 2008 (EST)<br />
<br />
:: Well if we stick to the same format as the US and Canada based [[Wikitravel:Phone numbers]] then we'd be using +61 00 1111 2222. I guess it depends on if we think numbers are going to be called from overseas or from Australia. --[[User:Oli|oli]] 03:19, 6 November 2008 (EST)<br />
<br />
::: Hence the problem, if you express the number as +61 03 4256 7892, you end up with a number that can't be dialed from anywhere. The best way to comply with the policy would be to use a number like +61 3 4256 7892. This will work from any mobile, the downside is that have to understand that you need to drop the 61, and add a 0 to dial it from Australia. But if you use (03) 4256 7892, you won't be Robinson Crusoe, and at least the info is in there. --[[User:Inas|Inas]] 16:23, 6 November 2008 (EST)<br />
<br />
==Most Urbanised?==<br />
Surely this the following, taken from the intro para, isnt correct?<br />
<br />
&quot;Australia is actually one of the world's most highly urbanised countries&quot;<br />
<br />
I thought australia was supposed to have a lower population than the uk, therefore it cant be very urbanised at all, given its relative size?<br />
<br />
: Less people, but as a proportion of the population, most live in major cities and coastal towns. So, even though the country is vast, a high proportion of the population live in a few small parts. Highly urbanised. --[[User:Inas|Inas]] 14:54, 3 December 2008 (EST)<br />
<br />
::something like 80% of the population live in the cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide.<br />
<br />
==Farmer's markets==<br />
<br />
I have only been to a few, but those &quot;Farmer's markets&quot; I have been to sell few fresh fruit and vegetables but mostly pickles, cakes, jams, olives, pasta, wines.... which are all super expensive and cost a lot more than somewhere like the Queen Victoria Market. But here it implies they are cheap. What do others thinks? Change the section?? [[User:210.84.12.63|210.84.12.63]] 03:04, 6 February 2009 (EST)<br />
<br />
:I think what you went to is a local or country market/fare/fete which is a lot more common than a farmers market hence the lack of fresh produce.<br />
<br />
::I attended a farmer's market at Ascot Vale, Victoria, today. It was tiny, the range of items available was not great, and it was significantly more expensive that the Queen Victoria Market. Why would a tourist travel 6 kms to Ascot Vale (and then the market about 20 minute walk from the tram stop) when the huge, ''central city'' Queen Vic Market is 100s of times bigger, with a fantastic range of fresh produce, and a lot cheaper? [[User:210.84.7.81|210.84.7.81]] 02:51, 18 April 2010 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::You might want to ask yourself that question. For the experience I would imagine? I would also urge caution in judging the whole category of Farmer's Markets after a couple of experiences. --[[User:Burmesedays|Burmesedays]] 02:59, 18 April 2010 (EDT)<br />
:::The enormous Queen Victoria Market with hundrens of stalls filed with fresh fruit and vegetables, and filled with international tourists every day who apparently think it is enough of an experience they are snapping away photographs of the food stalls is a pretty good experience. [[User:210.84.7.81|210.84.7.81]] 03:14, 18 April 2010 (EDT)<br />
::::i think a problem is the main article has a large-ish section on farmner's markets as if they are a really important thing to do in australia. I think it is misleading as they aren't really that a big deal/major thing in Australia. It would be more useful if, if there is a particular farmer's market that is worth visiting for a tourist, then specifically list that one. anyway, here is a link to a relevant site [http://www.farmersmarkets.org.au/] [[User:131.172.4.45|131.172.4.45]] 23:44, 19 April 2010 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Aboriginal languages ==<br />
<br />
I hate reverting good faith edits, but this edit [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Australia&amp;diff=1235924&amp;oldid=1234221], I am reverting, because I can't see that it adds any extra information for the extra words, but to me has an overtone that a Aboriginal person not speaking English is not an ''educated individual''. I'm sure that meaning was not intended, so if anyone still things there is a problem with the original para, perhaps have another go. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 19:27, 3 September 2009 (EDT)<br />
<br />
Hmm i agree that is sounds very un-PC. I think that the author was trying to say is that there are some '''very''' remote aboriginal communities where it may be uncommon for some individual to have completed much primary or secondary school and therefore never had to learn English.<br />
<br />
== Tour Operators ==<br />
Should we really be listing all those tour operators in a country article? I will check and make sure they all [[Wikitravel:Activity_listings#Tour_listings|pass muster]] but am not sure that any should be here. --[[User:Burmesedays|Burmesedays]] 10:53, 14 December 2009 (EST)<br />
<br />
:Yes, they should not be listed here (or with regards to those listings, anywhere, I think). We've covered this [[Wikitravel_talk:Activity_listings#Tour_listings_in_cities_only|here]], although I think we forgot to a) remove these operators and b) update the policy article! --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 16:20, 14 December 2009 (EST)<br />
<br />
:: Which to do first? The policy, I think. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 18:26, 14 December 2009 (EST)<br />
<br />
== Beyond Cuisine ==<br />
<br />
This section is obviously one of the more lighthearted in the article. It is a section for people who want to try more unusual Australian cuisine and customs, and has had a few inspired contributions over the past year or so. I think it is useful to be first time visitors to Australia. By necessity it is going to be have a point of view, and I'm going to try and put back some of what has been lost with edits making it more factual and encyclopaedic. The idea of this Australia article is to give a general introduction to a broader Australia. Of course you can buy Arnotts biscuits in a supermarket - that should be obvious, but maybe not so obvious is that if you go to the local market in any country town on a Saturday morning you will get some ANZAC biscuits that were home baked the night before. Yes, if you are staying a downtown posh-hotel, you can just ask for vegemite on toast - whether it appears on the menu or not. So by all means edit away, but if you want to replace lively text, it should be replaced with something [[Wikitravel:Tone|just as lively]], and not dulled down. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 17:48, 24 January 2010 (EST)<br />
:What was reverted to contained what I consider to be unhelpful superlatives &quot;an experience difficult to describe&quot; (WHAT!!??!!) and several factual errors. (The implication you can go ask for vegemite on toast in any cafe is truly ridiculous. It is also incredibly pointless thing for a tourist to do: tourists can readily sample vegemite because, as I have now added, it is routinely available in any self cater breakfast situation - like in a hostel. They do not ''need'' to go to a cafe and specifically ask for it, so why do we tell people to do that?) Many food products were not specified as commercial: so how would a toursit obtain them? By telling people that they are commercial, tourists can figure out where to buy them. We do not need to give ''Captain Obvious'' asides either. You know, this project is meant to be useful for a traveller, not an informal site to dicuss cultural things in a loose way.<br />
:: Much of the article deals with specifics. The &quot;beyond cuisine&quot; section of the article is a little lighter in content - it describes a few different foods that an international traveller may encounter in Australia. In keeping with the content of the section, it the tone should be similar. If you want to replace any sections, then according to our policies, you should replace the text with tone that is ''just as lively'', and not replace it with encylopedic text.<br />
:: To address your specific issues - &quot;an experience difficult to describe&quot; - is just that. Someone else wrote it, and I agree. Mild superlatives are okay here, to make a point, and I think are appropriate in this section of the article. It says to the traveller, to give it a go, and see what you think, or not, as they like. Having sucked a tim-tam or two in my time, I genuinely would have difficulty describing the experience, but I'm sure most people would get the idea of the coffee/chocolate combination. I'll grab a tim-tam this morning, and make a few notes :-)<br />
:: As far as trying vegemite is concerned, it is obvious that you can buy a jar and try it. However, it may be less obvious that if you having toast for breakfast you can order vegemite as you can any condiment - jam, etc. Any cafe that services toast at breakfast time (just about every one I would think) would serve it with vegemite. Do you know of a cafe that serves breakfast that will not do toast and vegemite on request?<br />
:: Why is it pointless? Not every tourist is staying in a hostel and self-catering for breakfast. <br />
:: I also don't understand what you mean by a &quot;commercial&quot; product. Aren't all products that you can buy commercial?<br />
:: Have a look at the number of contributors to this section. I really think many of the contributions are well thought out, lighthearted, and a off-beat introduction to the area. By all means make improvements, but it would be a shame in one set of edits, we remove all the fun from the section added so many people over couple of years, without adding any additional travel information to the mix in the process. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 19:29, 27 April 2010 (EDT)<br />
:::''Tone'' is ''not'' the only guideline of this project! Have you read any of the others? Lamingtons are not a commercial product. Why mention something vaguely but not give information about how and where to buy/try? If, re vegemite, it is obvious anyone can buy a jar and try it, then why are we describing it on a travel site at all? On vegemite, the article does not specify that a coffee shop ''that sells toast at breakfast'' will make vegemite available too, it actually does simply say &quot;any coffee shop&quot; which is totally ridiculous, and misleading. There are dozen, dozens, dozens of ethnic and inner city coffee shops that sell coffee where I'd say it is highly unlikely they would be catering vegemite. And do not tell me that ethnicnally diverse inner city places don't count - ''they are listed on this site'' - and those are probably the coffee shops a tourist is more likely to encounter. In terms of cost, it is pretty silly to suggest someone visit Brunetti's and ask to be catered vegemite when it is a cheap and common supermarket product readily available anywhere - some tourists might not know that, so why are you restricting the information from the site? Australian people don't go to cafes for vegemite, so it would be a pretty unusual situation for someone to order it. You argue that &quot;it may be less obvious that if you having toast for breakfast you can order vegemite as you can any condiment - jam, etc.&quot; Well my edit - that you reverted - completely accounted for that reality. But you then removed it, so the article no longer makes that clear!<br />
<br />
:::: If you name the inner-city &quot;ethnic?&quot; coffee shop that youo think doesn't serve toast and vegemite for brekkie, then I will give them call to confirm. Australians do go to cafes for toast and vegemite. It is a moderately common order by city commmuters, etc, while having their morning cappuccino. I really do think it is obvious to most travellers who do the self-catering thing that it would be an option. It would be truly unusual that there would be a breakfast spread available from coffee-shops for breakfast, that you couldn't buy in a supermarket.<br />
:::: Lamingtons not commercial? I don't understand, what do you mean by commercial? The article does say where to find them.<br />
:::: I didn't actually revert any of your edits, as others suggested. I spent an hour or so going through each one of them indivually. Reverting would have been easier. If there are facts that would help the travvelers experience, lets add them. But it seems to be your main problem is the tone, because the facts, in the main, seem to be there. This article can only ever be an overview. <br />
:::: I'm happy to reach any compromise that makes clear to the traveller what they need to know. I'd like to avoid the somewhat slippery slope of saying after every type of food that you can get it cheaper from a supermarket and make it yourself, because I really don't think that need saying, and for a one-off taste it isn't necessarily true. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 16:59, 28 April 2010 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Politics ==<br />
<br />
We should limit the depth of political discussion here to what is required either to understand Australia or to hold a conversation with Australians. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 04:42, 22 February 2010 (EST)<br />
<br />
==Recent edits==<br />
<br />
Someone has been hard at work on this article lately [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Australia&amp;diff=1441503&amp;oldid=1436764], but unfortunately the bulk of it seems to have simply [[tone|dulled down]] the style to a sort of low mediocrity, introduced grammatical errors, and mangled intended meanings by &quot;correcting&quot; perceived grammatical errors. If anyone else shares my concerns, it would probably be best to revert to the 19 April version. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 00:23, 26 April 2010 (EDT)<br />
: Its easy when there is nothing but dulling down, but there are a few good bits in there too. I'll have a go through it. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 05:12, 26 April 2010 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== National Speed Limits ==<br />
<br />
There is no national speed limit in Australia. In eastern states an unposted open road speed limit is 100 km/h. In NT and WA speed limits are over 110 km/h. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 14:59, 21 January 2011 (EST)<br />
<br />
:Actually that is only partly correct, NT used to have ''no limit'' open road speeds, then from 1 Jan 2007, they brought in a maximum speed of 110km/h other than on major highways specifically posted as 130km/h. I did (incorrectly) think that the the states had since all unified to 110 km/h across the nation (other than where posted). However I was mistaken, 4 of the states and territories are 100km/h upper limit and those 4 states (ACT, TAS, VIC and QLD) have no 110km/h zones. <br />
<br />
:100km/h should be assumed on open roads, in rural areas and away from built up areas or townships unless posted otherwise (SA, WA, NSW and NT are the exception, many open rural roads are 110km/h, NT is also in exception on the 4 main trunk highways with a 130km/h posted limit, 110km/h elsewhere). &lt;br&gt;BTY, I think your recent edit has expressed it correctly and succinctly enough for the article but it could do with some clarification at some time. I jumped in on the prior edit that stated 110km/h nationally as I was concerned about that information but did not have time to properly research it. That is why I put, &quot;Some areas of open road may have lower posted speed limits&quot; into the section in a previous edit.<br />
<br />
:Maybe it is reasonable to say ''the open road speed limit is 100km/h across Australia, except where posted otherwise'', and then give a brief outline. Below are the limits state-by-state, maybe later we can review it and extract something brief and succinct for the article at some time. Important though to first establish the actual facts as appear to be current at the outset of 2011.<br />
<br />
:*'''NT''', the Stuart, Arnhem, Barkly and Victoria highways are zoned and sign-posted at 130km/h. On other open roads the default open road speed limit is 110km/h, unless posted otherwise.[http://www.saferroaduse.nt.gov.au/speedandspeeding-openroadspeedlimits.html]<br />
::*Speed limits on NT open roads from: Safe Road Use-Changes at a glance-Northern Territory Government of Australia 2006. [http://www.saferroaduse.nt.gov.au/changesataglance.html]<br />
:::*130km/h speed limit – Stuart, Arnhem, Barkly and Victoria highways<br />
:::*110km/h speed limit – rural roads unless otherwise sign posted<br />
<br />
:*'''WA''' is 110 km/h [http://www.police.wa.gov.au/Traffic/CamerasCutCrashes/Speed/Speedlimits/tabid/1770/Default.aspx]. <br />
::*&quot;the default speed limit for open areas is 110 km/h. This applies on roads outside built-up areas&quot;.<br />
::*&quot;the derestricted speed zone limit is 110 km/h and this applies only to areas as signposted outside the metropolitan area.&quot;<br />
::*&quot;the default speed limit for freeways is 100 km/h unless zoned otherwise&quot;<br />
<br />
:*'''NSW''' The default speed limit in a local or suburban area in New South Wales is 50 km/h. A speed limit of 40 km/h applies around schools in the mornings and afternoons during school terms. <br />
::*110 km/h is the maximum allowable speed limit in NSW. From: NSW Speed Zoning Guidlines, 2009 Roads and Traffic Authority NSW. Overview of Speed limits in NSW pg13/40 [http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/downloads/nsw_sza.pdf]<br />
::• Motorways (freeways/tollways) in non-built up areas<br />
::• High quality rural divided roads<br />
::• Undivided rural road with low traffic volume in western part of NSW<br />
::* 100 km/h is otherwise default rural speed limit<br />
::NSW Road Rules 2008, Current version for 22 October 2010 to date (accessed 23 January 2011 at 00:11). Part 3, Rule 25-Speed limit elsewhere.[http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/subordleg+179+2008+pt.3-rule.25+0+N/]<br />
::*(3) The default speed limit applying to a driver for any other length of road is:<br />
::*(a) for a driver driving a vehicle with a GVM over 4.5 tonnes or a vehicle and trailer combination with a GCM over 4.5 tonnes—100 kilometres per hour, or<br />
::*(b) for any other driver—100 kilometres per hour or as otherwise provided under another law of this jurisdiction.<br />
<br />
::NSW State Forestries have recently imposed a 60km/h limit within areas under their control, previously it was 100km/h (NSW default speed)<br />
<br />
:*'''VIC''', the default speed limit outside built-up areas is 100 km/h. [http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/SafetyAndRules/SafetyIssues/Speed/VictoriasSpeedLimits.htm] <br />
::The default speed-limit applying to a driver for any other length of road is 100 km/h [http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubStatbook.nsf/b05145073fa2a882ca256da4001bc4e7/36E852AA5A0D62CACA25761E001F5FF1/$FILE/09-094sr.pdf]<br />
::*&quot;The default speed limit operates on roads where there is no speed limit sign&quot;.[http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/SafetyAndRules/SafetyIssues/Speed/VictoriasSpeedLimits.htm] <br />
<br />
:*'''QLD''', [http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Safety/Queensland-Road-Rules.aspx] [http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/T/TrantOpRURR09.pdf] QLD Transport Operations (Road Use Management—Road Rules) Regulation 2009. <br />
::*(1) If a speed limit sign does not apply to a length of road and the length of road is not in a speed limited area, school zone or shared zone, the speed limit applying to a driver for the length of road is the default speed limit.<br />
::*(2) The default speed limit applying to a driver for a length of road is—<br />
:::*(a) for a road in a built-up area—50km/h; or<br />
:::*(b) for a road that is not in a built-up area—100km/h.<br />
<br />
:*'''ACT''' [http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/ni/2010-113/current/pdf/2010-113.pdf] The default speed-limit applying to a driver for any other... (not in built up area or other defined speed zone)... length of road is:<br />
::*&quot;100 km/h or as otherwise provided under another law of this jurisdiction&quot;. (pt2 sec 25-Australian Capital Territory Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Australian Road Rules, Incorporation 2010 (No 1).<br />
<br />
:*'''TAS''', is 100km/h, [http://www.transport.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/49096/road_rules_booklet.pdf] but that is currently under review. The Tasmanian state government in partnership with the Road Safety Advisory Council apparently wants to reduce the speed limit from 100km/h to 90km/h on sealed roads and 80km/h and unsealed roads. <br />
::*&quot;When there isn’t a speed limit sign for a road, never go faster than the default speed limit. The default speed limits are&quot;<br />
:::*&quot;50 km/h in built-up areas (like in cities and towns)&quot;<br />
:::*&quot;100 km/h in country areas (outside cities and towns)&quot;<br />
<br />
:*'''SA''', &quot;Any road with a speed limit different to the default limit is signposted accordingly&quot; [http://www.dtei.sa.gov.au/roadsafety/safer_speeds/speed_limits]. <br />
::*&quot;100 km/h is the maximum speed limit on roads outside a built-up area where no other speed limit is signposted&quot;.<br />
<br />
:Note: The below comes from the SA gov site [http://www.dtei.sa.gov.au/roadsafety/safer_speeds/speed_limits]:<br />
<br />
:&quot;These default speed limits are applied in South Australia '''and across Australia'''. Any road with a speed limit different to the default limit is signposted accordingly&quot;. (This when describing the 40km/h, 25km/h, and 110km/h speed zones.)<br />
<br />
:'''&quot;Some roads may be signposted at 110 km/h&quot;'''.<br />
::This does not apply to the following:<br />
:*‘L’ plate drivers must not exceed 100 km/h <br />
:*All ‘P’ plate drivers must not exceed 100 km/h<br />
:*Drivers of buses of more than 5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) and heavy vehicles of more than 12 tonnes GVM must not exceed 100 km/h<br />
:*A longer or wider vehicle, such as a road train or low loader, may have a lower maximum speed limit as a condition of its permit of travel.<br />
[[User:Felix505|felix]] 14:05, 22 January 2011 (EST)<br />
<br />
== Virgin Blue rebrand ==<br />
<br />
Changing airline name of Virgin Blue to Virgin Australia and editing description and link based on rebrand today &lt;small&gt;—The [[Wikitravel:Using_talk_pages#Talk_page_formatting|preceding]] comment was added by [[User:Ascough|Ascough]] ([[User_talk:Ascough|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Ascough|contribs]]) {{{2|}}}&lt;/small&gt;<br />
<br />
== &quot;Aussie&quot; ==<br />
:''Moved from [[User talk:LtPowers]]''<br />
I find the use of the describer &quot;Aussie&quot; inappropriate to the article as explained in the edit notes at [[Australia]]. I do not see that this term is required whether it is applied in a deprecating point of humour or not. &quot;Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi&quot; (''alt Ozzie'') is most often a call of the ignorant and those predisposed toward displays of jingoism. In the last 10-15 years it has often been adopted with fervour by sporting spectator crowds and sometimes as a battle cry of bigots and anti-immigrationists. Jingoistic displays of flag waving and flag 'wearing' in 'nationalistic' costuming displays in public places often accompanies the activity.&lt;br&gt;<br />
The nation of Australia is not populated by ''Aussies''. This is as much a myth as the 'shrimp on the barbie' imagery promoted by the Australian Tourism campaigns of the 80s. It is similar to the absurd myth that Australians commonly greet each other with a &quot;gooday&quot;, whereas it is in truth a quite unusual manner of greeting by Australians and more often used in jest or in mimicry of the idea itself. Most often it seems to be used by non-Australians when greeting Australians such as the propagation of this silly idea primarily in the mass media. &quot;Gooday-mate&quot; is even rarer. Those Australians who do genuinely identify themselves as an ''Aussie'' are not the universal benchmark of being an Australian and to promote it here at WT as a national identifier is entirely inappropriate. <br />
It is arguable that many Australians seek the lowest common denominator in matters of culture, intellect and self identification. Many do willingly and proudly identify with a capacity to absorb generous quantities of both alcohol and misinformation and then later willingly regurgitate it to an often appreciative audience thereby defining a cultural and social benchmark. Unquestionably they do also define themselves by the image of an &quot;Aussie&quot; when doing this. In the last 15-20 years Australan self-image has increasingly become one dominated by mass media and jingoism. In recent years it is notable that the mass media are increasingly using the term ''Aussie'' presumably as an appeal to the apparent guiding force of Australian culture, the ''lowest common denominator''. The Australian dollar is increasingly referred to as the Aussie dollar, the nations armed forces deployed in occupying foreign lands are referred to as ''Aussie troops'' and sporting achievements as ''Aussie gold''. Similarly criticisms of mass cultural packaging and jingoism sometimes lead to the utterance of the term &quot;un-Australian&quot;. Interestingly this notion is not described as &quot;un-Aussie&quot;. To prevail with criticism or disparaging remarks concerning either Aussie or Bogan identity often results in an enthusiastic cry to &quot;go back where you came from&quot; or &quot;if you don't like the country then leave&quot;. Being of multi generational Australian heritage does not make a person immune from this cry and I have even witnessed it applied to a near full blood Australian aboriginal who was instructed to &quot;get out of the country and go back to wherever you came from&quot; by a strident Aussie bogan a few years ago when visiting a city in the south of the sunburnt land.&lt;br&gt;<br />
<br />
In more recent times in a search for meaning and cultural understanding the sort of Australian that may readily identify as an ''Aussie'' is often referred to as a &quot;Bogan&quot;. I will not pursue a discourse on ''boganism'' here other than to say that an ''Aussie'' and a ''Bogan'' share a great deal of common. Every nation has it's equivalent of a &quot;bogan&quot; but generally do not promote it as a national identifier. I see no reason for WT to assist in the process, either consciously or unwittingly. <br />
<br />
Are we going to go the whole way here and adopt the &quot;firies&quot; for firefighters, &quot;ambos&quot; for paramedics, &quot;abos&quot; for aboriginals, &quot;wogs&quot; for various European immigrants to Australia, &quot;frogs&quot; for French people, &quot;yanks&quot; for Americans and all the rest of it that is really best not further described here.<br />
Many people from Australia will noticeably cringe when hearing the term ''Aussie'' or ''Ozzie'', most especially if it is directed at them and more especially if it is repeated 3 times or more in succession within their hearing range, others may not care or indeed may encourage it. Unless we are going to start calling French people &quot;frogs&quot; or British people &quot;poms&quot; because it is less &quot;stilted&quot; then lets stick to &quot;Australian&quot; for people from Australia.<br />
<br />
As for Australians betting on two flies crawling up a wall I have yet to meet any who would bother to do so, it is a silly joke and neither needs nor benefits from the use of the term &quot;Aussie&quot;. The inclination to gambling is quite adequately described in more factual detail in the article. The reality is that like alcoholism, chronic gambling is a both a social problem and a mental health issue in Australian society.<br />
<br />
I am certainly not going to go in and undo your recent re-edit of my recent revision but I do respectfully request that you do not use the term ''Aussie'' as a describer and restrict it's use to describing it contextually within the articles ''Culture'' section, or better still, not at all. <br />
Until there is a national referendum seeking a change of name of the nation state to Oz rather than Australia then lets stick to calling the residents and citizens of the nation as &quot;Australians&quot; here at WT. [[User:Felix505|felix]] 02:36, 17 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:First off, this sort of discussion belongs on [[Talk:Australia]], not here. Please don't make this personal; this is an editorial discussion about the content of an article, not a personal gripe with me (at least I hope that's not the case).<br />
:It's clear you're very passionate about this issue, but I think you're over-reacting. To a non-Australian audience -- which is the audience for whom the article is intended -- &quot;Aussie&quot; is merely a colloquial abbreviation of &quot;Australian&quot; and carries none of the stereotypical baggage which you ascribe to it. You even note that &quot;In recent years it is notable that the mass media are increasingly using the term ''Aussie''&quot; -- and I really don't agree that the media are doing so &quot;as an appeal to the apparent guiding force of Australian culture, the ''lowest common denominator''.&quot; It's just a casual, friendly shorthand to the media, and to media consumers.<br />
:You may see an unfair characterization in the use of the word, but I think scrupulously avoiding its use would also reflect an unfair point of view.<br />
:-- [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 13:36, 17 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::I don't have enough to say to go start a discussion at [[Talk:Australia]] but I would like to back up what LtPowers is saying. &quot;Aussie&quot; doesn't make me think of stereotypes any more than &quot;Australian&quot; does. It's plainly and simply a shorter way to say it. I don't recall any of my Australian friends ever taking offense to this abbreviation. Your making a big deal out of its use is the only thing that I see evoking stereotypes here. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 14:02, 17 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::Good heavens of course I do not have any gripe with you..at all, nor with Texugo for that matter. However I do think that both yourself and apparently also Texugo are unaware of some aspects of this matter. Using the term may not make Texego think of stereotypes but it does have that effect on many others. Some may have Australian friends who do not take offence, however there are plenty of Australians who would be a lot happier if the term was not uttered, especially when directed at them. It is not &quot;just a &quot;shorter way to say it, I am sorry but that is both ill-informed and naive. The term Aussie abounds with stereotypical baggage and becomes more so as time passes by. I strongly encourage you to avoid using the term in WT articles in place of the word ''Australian''. I do not see the use of the term &quot;yanks&quot; in the US articles so why accommodate this sort of thing with an Australian article? I have reviewed what I wrote above and I stand by all of it. -- [[User:Felix505|felix]] 15:44, 17 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::Yeah, but if the article ''did'' use the word &quot;Yanks&quot;, none of us would object to it. Same, I suspect, with &quot;Canuck&quot; in Canada. [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Aussie Wiktionary] gives absolutely zero indication of a pejorative sense; neither does [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aussie Merriam-Webster] nor even the esteemed and very, very Australian Macquarie Dictionary (to which I can't link). So right now, we have only your word on this subject, while we have the evidence of both several dictionaries, as well as parallel constructions from the U.S. and Canada, that disagree with you. If you have any further evidence to put up, I suggest you do so at [[Talk:Australia]] rather than here. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 21:17, 17 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::LT - I suggest you sweep all this to [[Talk:Australia]]. The term certainly does have many of the associations which Felix explained so thoroughly. It is also used as a white racist group chant, particularly in Sydney in my experience; try a weekend night out for evidence. That is also alluded to at Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aussie#Ethnic_usage], and more overtly in numerous reputable news articles if you do a search. My take is that it would '''much''' simpler just to avoid this, and use the term Australian(s).--[[User:Burmesedays|Burmesedays]] 21:52, 17 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::With the benefit of hindsight maybe I should have raised this at [[Talk:Australia]] but to be honest I did not for a moment think there would be such a level of misunderstanding or resistance to my suggestion. Also LT I did not, nor do I wish to berate anyone over this, including either yourself or Tuxogo. The term &quot;Yanks&quot; and &quot;Canucks&quot; is probably best dealt with in their own respective context I would not use those terms myself in a WT article unless to describe them contextually. Certainly I have heard Americans use the term &quot;Canuck&quot; disparagingly toward their northern neighbours and as for Yanks, I thought everyone knew that could go either way and has been used derisively in many contexts. Most certainly with no intended offence to yourself (or Tuxugo) I must comment that although I do not make a common habit of it I have sometimes used it myself in a quite quite disparagingly manner even though the term is now a little old fashioned and has been replaced my far more descriptive and more contemporary forms of derision. I would suggest that any American should not assume the term ''yank'' to necessarily be benign, sometimes it is and most definitely sometimes it is not. Whether people take offence or not is another matter but I cannot see the reason to experiment here at WT. I am similarly well aware that many people use the term ''Aussie'' in a very benign or even a proactively friendly manner and I am certain that is the filter through which both LT and Tuxugo have been viewing this matter. However, sadly the world is not such a simple place and the term does have increasingly negative connotations. I might suggest that for many the term ''Aussie'' might be a little closer to &quot;red-neck&quot; or &quot;trailer trash&quot; than many may prefer to believe. To qualify this, the Australian colloquialism ''Bogan'' is probably the best direct substitute for those terms rather than ''Aussie''. though for many they are often interchangeable. Linguistics, in particular colloquial linguistics can be a minefield, most especially if they are mixed up with racial, jingoistic, nationalistic or supremacist overtones. Many Australians and those of other nationalities are inclined to use ''Aussie'' (''alt Ozzie'') either ambiguously or with clear negative connotations. <br />
::::::The other clear aspect of usage is one of an overtly racist and bigoted ''Aussie'' stereotyped self-identity. Some individuals with such inclination use the term expressively and will often chant it. It is sometimes used in a clear and overtly racist manner by self identifiers to distinguish themselves from either a non-Australian, a non-white or a non-racist inclined Australian who may sometimes be referred to as being &quot;un-Australian&quot; by these ''Aussie'' individuals. Non-white Australians will also sometimes use it derivatively toward apparently racist leaning white Australians and sometimes just offensively use it toward any white Australian whom they wish to disparage. I have not been near the place for several years but I am in regular contact with Australians from many walks of life, I meet them as tourists and as expatriates and I correspond with many Australian residents on a regular basis. I also follow developments in Australian political and social trends quite closely so my views are not just throw away commentary nor am I a linguistic prude. This site may be enlightening in an odd sort of a way... http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=aussie see also http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ozzie<br />
::::::This WP article on the Cronulla race riots gives some explanation of the ''Aussie'' identity as promoted by some members of Australian society http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Cronulla_riots the WP article is rich with links. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/southern-cross-gangstas-boast-of-aussie-pride/2008/12/13/1228585185930.html explores racist ''Aussie'' identity in the Sydney Morning Herald, one the nations premier broadsheet daily newspapers. <br />
::::::http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/these-days-its-harder-to-be-different/2006/12/06/1165081019992.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 is a reasonable essay on the issue however there are many that explore the issues in a deeper socio political or anthropological manner. <br />
<br />
::::::My AUSSIE pride<br />
<br />
::::::I will not hide<br />
<br />
::::::My AUSSIE race<br />
<br />
::::::I will not disgrace<br />
<br />
::::::My AUSSIE blood<br />
<br />
::::::flows hot &amp; true<br />
<br />
::::::My AUSSIE peeps<br />
<br />
::::::I will stand by you<br />
<br />
::::::thru thick &amp; thin<br />
<br />
::::::till the day we die<br />
<br />
::::::Our AUSSIE flag<br />
<br />
::::::Always stands high<br />
<br />
::::::I yell this poem<br />
<br />
::::::Louder than all the rest.<br />
<br />
::::::cuz every 1 knows<br />
<br />
::::::AUSSIES ARE THE BEST!!!<br />
<br />
::::::AUSSIE Pride in my mind<br />
<br />
::::::AUSSIE BLOOD is my kind<br />
<br />
::::::So step aside and let me through<br />
<br />
::::::Cuz its all about the AUSSIE crew<br />
<br />
::::::http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=5715282088 There is plenty more where that came from, most especially from the strongly ''Aussie'' identifying Southern Cross Gangstas and the Southern Cross Soldiers but it is best kept off the pages of WT.<br />
::::::http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELsItD4EP5g&amp;feature=related<br />
::::::http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52H0LgxDidU&amp;feature=related<br />
<br />
::::::If all that does not put some smoke in your chimney then try this one out http://theantibogan.wordpress.com/tag/aussie-pride/<br />
::::::To be quite honest until this morning I had not gone looking for any of this, I was just aware of it and that was quite enough. Having delved into it I find the ''Aussie pride'' issue far worse and a lot more developed than I was previously aware. In a way I wish I had never brought it up, in another way I am glad that I did. Apologies though to LT whom I am sure had absolutely no inkling of this nastiness when reverting my edit. I am certain that you did that entirely in good faith. If we really must then lets sweep this across to [[Talk:Australia]] but it may be best just quietly put to rest here with some informal consensus to avoid the use of pejoratives at WT, especially if they may have either overt or covert racist symbolism. -- [[User:Felix505|felix]] 04:29, 18 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::::I read all the links you provided, and with the exception of the jokey entries on the very jokey urban dictionary site, I don't see a single use of the word &quot;Aussie&quot; that would read any different to me if it said &quot;Australian&quot; instead, including the transcribed bit above. I don't even see any evidence that these &quot;pride groups&quot; are even trying to appropriate the word for their own purposes-- it just looks to me like they are using it as an abbreviation for &quot;Australian&quot;, like everyone else I've ever known. I actually think that for us to stop using it in its normal abbreviative sense would be equivalent to ceding the word over to the very people you are annoyed by, which would more or less represent a victory for them. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 09:20, 19 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::::Until very recently it seems this term had not been used at WT? As I surmised earlier it would seem far, far simpler to me to stick to using Australian(s). Given that the Aussie term, particularly in the chanted format, has been hijacked by extreme racist groups, I can easily see why some folks will be upset when it is read here. Aside from that we do not use use diminutive slang to describe other nationalities (at least, not that I can think of?) --[[User:Burmesedays|Burmesedays]] 09:48, 19 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::::::::It's not a recent thing. The term appears in [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&amp;search=Aussie&amp;fulltext=Search 115 Wikitravel articles] so far, all with the completely innocuous, standard denotation of &quot;Australian&quot;.[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 11:39, 19 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::::::Texugo, I am not going to start linking to a whole bunch of race hate sites here just to prove my point. A basic google search should suffice to satisfy the curious or you could just follow some of the cite links in the WP Cronulla riots article. This one is possibly a little more directly to the point than the ones I linked to above. [http://www.stormfront.org/forum/t528563/ Are you an Aussie? Australian? or What?]. No they are not using it as a &quot;shortening&quot;, rather it is being used as an identifier and a rallying call. I admit I was never fond of the term in the first place but that is of little significance here. The point is that the connotations of the term have gradually shifted from the benign and relatively innocuous to one of an entirely different focus. Even &quot;Skippy&quot; a name derived from a 60s Australian TV series staring a wallaby (presented as a kangaroo), once used as a quaint endearment (Skip) or as a colloquial joke, has now become yet another racist identifier. It has drifted from being generally light hearted slang for a white anglo saxon Australian to being used as a term of derision or as a racial identifier by some elements of non-white Australian society and also as a self identifier for racist or supremacist inspired white Australians. The suggestion that &quot;Aussie&quot; is just being used as a shortening is rather ill-informed. Aside from the quite adequate reasons I have outlined above I can see no reason why here at WT we should even be discussing using a diminutive slang term to describe either a nationality or members of any race or creed. I can see no justification for Australians being singled out for this sort of thing, especially when they most certainly do not universally identify with the term. As for giving anyone a victory I really don't think anyone would see it as much of a victory for race hate groups if WT stopped using the term ''Aussie'' as it should never have been used in the first place. In fact in regard to [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]]'s edit if anyone was going to be silly enough to bet on the two mythical flies crawling up a wall it probably would be best described as two drunk ''Aussies'' rather than two 'Australians' but I think my attributed meaning is somewhat different, most certainly derisory and definitely a lot less benign than that intended by [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers. As I mentioned earlier, fine to describe the meaning of the word or to qualify it contextually in a Culture or Language section, but not OK to use it as a describer of people of Australian nationality or identity within the article. Alternatively it could just be left out all together. -- [[User:Felix505|felix]] 15:36, 19 June 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
Aussie is not considered 'offensive' in any part of Australia that I've lived in. As an Australian I don't understand why this is considered an offensive term? Yelling out 'aussie, oi oi oi!' could be seen as offensive simply because it's stupid, but calling somebody an 'aussie' is not offensive in any way shape or form.[[User:138.130.88.5|138.130.88.5]] 23:17, 30 October 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: Agreed. I've never encountered Aussie used in an offensive way. If you go looking on race hate sites, you can find many nationalistic phrase adopted for objectionable uses, and even the Australian flag used in this way? Most people use the term Aussie in an affectionate way, and it is entirely consistent with WT style. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 20:42, 31 October 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==Regions==<br />
I see that the ACT is not a WT region of Australia and that Canberra breadcrumbs straight to Australia. I can see that just about makes sense for Canberra only. What about though other places in the ACT? For example we have a recently started article for [[Hall]].--[[User:Burmesedays|Burmesedays]] 03:24, 1 July 2011 (EDT)<br />
: The ACT is most definitely a region equal to the other states. The region list on the Australia page combines it with NSW. I dont know much about the ACT but I will be happy to make the page and change the map etc. - [[User:Cardboardbird|Cardboardbird]] 04:08, 1 July 2011 (EDT)<br />
::It seems to me the ACT is a subregion of NSW, from a traveler's perspective -- especially since you have to go through NSW to get to it. It's essentially one city and its suburbs, isn't it? [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 14:41, 1 July 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::I can see the argument for ACT being a sub-region of NSW, in the same way that DC is part of [[Mid-Atlantic]].--[[User:Burmesedays|Burmesedays]] 21:43, 1 July 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::: Not having the ACT as its own region feel utterly discordant to my geographical brain, nonetheless I can appreciate that from a ''travellers perspective'' the ACT/Canberra seem like part of NSW. Given that there are precedents to this type regional organisation, then it makes sense. My question is; where should the breadcrumb navigation start at? Canberra (which looks funny) or NSW? - [[User:Cardboardbird|Cardboardbird]] 22:16, 1 July 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::::But the difference between DC and ACT is that DC consists of one city only, while ACT [[:wikipedia:Australian_Capital_Territory#Geography|has a number of towns]] other than Canberra. And Mid-Atlantic is a multiple-state region, not a state (but NSW is). If we have to draw a similarity from US regional breakdown, then putting ACT under NSW would be like making DC a part of, say, [[Maryland]]. I understand the arguments about how a traveller might see the area, but breadcrumbing Canberra to NSW somehow looks wrong to me. &amp;ndash; [[User:Vidimian|Vidimian]] 06:07, 2 July 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::Good points from both Cardboardbird and Vidimian. I can see why having the ACT as part of NSW would seem ''very'' strange to any Australian, or indeed to many travelers familiar with Australia. On the other hand, geography says do it that way, and there is at least one such precedent I can think of with [[Labuan]] in Malaysia. This is a federal territory which we treat as part of the state of [[Sabah]], even though it clearly isn't. However, for the sake of simplicity, I am now leaning towards proposing the ACT as a top level region. Canberra, Hall and wherever then become part of the ACT which is part of Australia. --[[User:Burmesedays|Burmesedays]] 10:33, 2 July 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::::It's far too small to be a top-level region, in my book. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 10:44, 2 July 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::::: I'm having a change of heart. Having the ACT as a top level region is the option I'd prefer. As Burmesedays says, to make it simple, and I imagine less ambiguous. Yes, we must look at organising page hierarchy from a travel perspective, but blurring or ignoring the well defined borders between a countries states and/or territories has the potential of muddling where users expect to find the information. Also, Canberra is more than a single page for the city as there are other surrounding towns that are big enough to support their own articles. An ACT region article will tie them all together nicely. - [[User:Cardboardbird|Cardboardbird]] 11:19, 2 July 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
Lets just be pragmatic. There was an Australian Capital Territory article. Go look at the history. Every bit of information in the Get In, Get Out, Get Around, Sleep and Eat sections was completely duplicated by the Canberra article. At most you could add one or two small towns (Tharwa maybe, what else?) to the Canberra article. It is infinitely more useful to the traveller to have all this information in the Canberra article rather than split into another vacuous regional article. Canberra is one of our best and most complete articles in Australia. I attribute this in no small measure to that fact that it is focussed, complete, undistricted. The redirect from the ACT to Canberra serves the traveller well. To recreate the ACT as a fully fledged article to duplicate Canberra info. If we are get obsessive over state boundaries, then we'll have to start adding Jervis Bay, etc as a separate territory as well. Lets not be wikipedia. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 20:35, 31 October 2011 (EDT)<br />
:Can we put &quot;Let's not be Wikipedia&quot; in the sitenotice? ;) [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 20:52, 31 October 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::So where should [[Hall]] (for example) breadcrumb to? Australia?<br />
::One option would be to simply rename [[New South Wales]] to [[New South Wales and the ACT]]. That would make sense to most travellers, if perhaps not to Australians. The region list does that already in the description, but not in the actual region name.--[[User:Burmesedays|burmesedays]] 02:30, 1 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::NSW seems poorly regionalized to me. The Sydney-area regions are too small to be top-level subregions of the state. Without cleaning those regions up a bid, it's hard to say where ACT would fit best. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 08:32, 1 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::: @[[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] - I don't necessarily agree. The problem comes from the geography, with very large regions out west that can be covered in a couple of articles, and regions like the Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands which very much make sense as region articles. One solution to the problem as you see it would be to make a Greater Sydney region, or some such, including the smaller regions around Sydney, but that just adds another level of regional hierarchy - undesirable if it can be avoided. I see a better solution to have one of those magnifying bubbles on the map, the 200km around Sydney needs more details that the expanses of the outback. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 18:04, 1 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::: @[[User:Burmesedays|burmesedays]] - For all intents and purposes, except for the most geographically obsessed, Hall is in Canberra. It is closer to the city centre than the southern Canberra towns and suburbs. It is a mere few hundred metres from the Canberra suburbs that surround it. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 18:04, 1 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::::I tend to prefer subregions to be as equal as is practical, especially at the state level. I understand the geography of Australia means cities are clustered on the coasts, but when it comes to what I'd like to see if I were to travel to NSW, I think creating a Greater Sydney subregion (or something similar) would be more helpful. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 22:20, 1 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::::: What is your measure of &quot;equal&quot;. This Greater Sydney Region contains over 2/3 of the population of the state, and I'd guess that over two thirds of the visitors to the state never leave it. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 23:34, 1 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::::::Equal in land area, to the extent practical given population differentials. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 10:25, 2 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::::::: Would you mind if I push further for your reasoning? Is it just about readable maps, or some other benefits that you see having equal land in each region? There is some precedent for denser high population regions being top level &quot;state&quot; level regions, but most North American states/provinces aren't done that way. Still, no two places are the same. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 18:12, 2 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::::::::Well, I suppose there are two factors here. One is indeed the aesthetics of the map, though I also think that the appearance of the map is emblematic of how understandable the region divisions are. If the regions are crowded on the map, they'll be crowded in the reader's understanding as well, and that's not conducive. On the map as it stands currently, I see a few large, understandable regions, and then a jumble of tiny ones on the coast. Second of all, though kind of related, is that the number of top-level NSW regions is too large; we should have only 5–9 regions, not fifteen. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 10:05, 3 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::::::: Okay, but as you say the number of regions isn't really related to the land mass, and the smaller coastal regions can be made more readable by improving the map layout. The tourism new south wales goes to seven mainland regions, essentially by combining our two north coast regions, and our two south coast regions, and merging the much of the rest into a &quot;country new south wales&quot; region. My concern is that we end up with two or three more subregions, each of which has two or three subregions. That is a lot of regional article to fill, when the existing ones are struggling. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 18:32, 3 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::::::::Well, I'm kinda flying blind, but it seems to me that combining the seven regions that are listed under &quot;Sydney and surrounds&quot; on the NSW page into a real &quot;Sydney and surrounds&quot; region would produce an ideal number of subregions at both levels - nine for NSW and seven for Greater Sydney (or whatever we call it). (NSW would go to ten if we add ACT, still within reason.) [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 19:38, 3 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::::::::::: The other cities that have tried this kind of arrangement [[Auckland Region]], and [[Perth (region)]] I think just haven't worked well. Do you know of examples that examples that ''have'' worked well? Perth we just changed back to a unregioned city. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 21:07, 3 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
::::::::::::: The only city I can think of that makes sense to be unregioned is [[Washington, D.C.]]. It's extremely common in the U.S. to have a region consisting of the &quot;greater&quot; metro area around a city... but then, maybe that's the difference between Australian and U.S. &quot;cities&quot; that's coloring the discussion here. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 08:40, 4 November 2011 (EDT)<br />
:::::::::::::: Hmmmm.. Although it paints a nice map, many of these mid-level U.S. regions tend to be weak articles, even though the U.S. is dense with population centres and attractions compared to Oz. [[London]] rates its own region within [[England]], as does [[Berlin]] within [[Eastern Germany]]. In fact all the European major cities [[Paris]], etc, seem to be two levels down from the country level, whereas the major cities in the U.S. tend to be three. --[[User:Inas|inas]] 17:21, 6 November 2011 (EST)<br />
<br />
== &quot;Mecca&quot; ==<br />
Re [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Australia&amp;diff=next&amp;oldid=1723067 this edit], I don't understand the reasoning. &quot;Mecca&quot;, in addition to naming the city, has also become, in English, a common noun meaning &quot;a place many people visit or want to visit&quot;. Its use in the context provided in the link is perfectly idiomatic and not at all incorrect. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 15:33, 28 July 2011 (EDT)<br />
:Agreed. The word is quite common in the usage that was removed. Both Mecca and mecca can be used.--[[User:Dmol|Dmol]] 16:48, 28 July 2011 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==Prostitution information==<br />
We currently have two (relatively long standing) directly relevant policies:&lt;br /&gt;<br />
[http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Wikitravel%3AIllegal_activities_policy&amp;action=historysubmit&amp;diff=1919157&amp;oldid=1516988 Illegal activities policy]&lt;br /&gt;<br />
and&lt;br /&gt;<br />
[http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Wikitravel:Sex_tourism_policy&amp;oldid=1632288 Sex tourism policy]<br />
<br />
Today, the following informative text was posted (and just as quickly reverted):<br />
<br />
&lt;pre&gt;&quot;Laws regarding prostitution in Australia vary between States. In the <br />
Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and<br />
Victoria, brothels are legally allowed to operate but are closely<br />
regulated and observed by each respective state government. <br />
Brothels remain illegal in the Northern Territory, Western Australia <br />
and South Australia. All brothels and sex workers are required to <br />
obtain the appropriate license to manage or work in the sex industry.<br />
<br />
Although brothels are legal, one should not confuse legal prostitution<br />
with illegal prostitution such as &quot;Street Prostitution&quot;. Street<br />
Prostitution is illegal and if caught in the act, the punishment will <br />
be severe. You must be 18+ years of age to enter a brothel. All <br />
brothels operate according to the idea of &quot;Safe Sex&quot;. Disobeying this<br />
law will result in heavy fines for the establishment, including <br />
separate fines to the employee and possible revocation of license.<br />
<br />
Paying for sexual intercourse is not common in Australia and you may<br />
find that most people do not even know that it is legal. A survey<br />
conducted in the early 2000s showed that 15.6% of Australian men aged<br />
16–59 have paid for sex at least once in their life and 1.9% had done <br />
so in the past year.&quot;&lt;/pre&gt;<br />
<br />
Because I believe ''both'' that the above passage may help travellers avoid getting into difficulties with the police in Australia ''and'' that it conforms to both relevant policies referenced above, I intend to restore this passage (with minor copy edits) unless someone can provide cogent reasons not to.<br />
<br />
Previously this passage was posted under a secondary section heading of ''Prostitution'' but I intend to restore it under a new secondary section heading of ''Cope'' as ''per'' the [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Wikitravel:Article_templates&amp;oldid=1944116#What_are_all_the_possible_section_names_that_can_be_in_a_destination_article.2C_and_their_correct_order.3F advice specified here]. --[[User:W. Frank|W.&amp;nbsp;'''Frank''']]&lt;sup&gt;[[Special:EmailUser/W. Frank|&lt;font color=&quot;green&quot;&gt;e-mail&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;sub&gt;[[User talk:W. Frank|&lt;font color=&quot;red&quot;&gt;talk&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sub&gt; 11:09, 20 October 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:While you can try to justify adding this information, keep in mind the spirit of the Sex Tourism Policy and the fact that this is not Wikipedia...no encyclopedic info is needed (like survey). If you really feel like this info is important, it should probably be kept brief, like: &quot;Prostitution is resigned to regulated/licensed brothels to ensure the safety of workers and clients. Prostitution remains illegal in Western Australia, South Australia, &amp; Northern Territory.&quot; IMO, that's all that's necessary to protect tourists from trouble without helping or providing much useful info to people interested in these activities. [[User:AHeneen|AHeneen]] 13:58, 20 October 2012 (EDT)</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Central_African_Republic&diff=1941292Central African Republic2012-10-13T23:11:07Z<p>AHeneen: Undo revision 1939914 by 173.16.194.59 (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{quickbar<br />
| image=[[Image:Bangui.jpg|250px|noframe]]<br />
| location=[[Image:LocationCentralAfricanRepublic.png|250px|noframe]]<br />
| flag=[[Image:ct-flag.png]]<br />
| capital=[[Bangui]]<br />
| government=Republic<br />
| currency=Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF)<br />
| area=622,984 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;<br />
| population=4,303,356 (June 2006 est.)<br />
| language=[[French]] (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages<br />
| religion=Indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15% (animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority)<br />
| electricity=<br />
| callingcode=+236<br />
| tld=.cf<br />
| timezone=UTC +1<br />
}}<br />
<br />
{{warningbox|Due to increasing rebel activity and violent civil/political unrest, travel is discouraged to most of the country, but especially the north and east of the country. The government is volatile and maintains a very weak grip on the country. Banditry and general lawlessness are major problems outside Bangui. Travel to Dzanga-Sangha National Park and Bangui (despite a high crime rate) is fairly safe , while travel to the rest of the country is dangerous and not advised for any reason. Overland routes between the CAR and Sudan &amp; South Sudan are very dangerous and should not be used by any traveler. Travel overland to Chad &amp; the DRC are fairly dangerous on the Chadian/Congolese side and discouraged. Travel overland from Cameroon is relatively safe, but subject to intense harassment by unpaid soldiers/police trying to intimidate foreigners for bribes at frequent intervals. (Updated July 2012)}}<br />
<br />
The '''Central African Republic''' ([[French phrasebook|French]]: ''République centrafricaine'' or ''Centrafrique'', Sangho: ''Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka'') is at the geographic [[Central Africa|center of Africa]], bordered by [[Cameroon]] to the west, [[Chad]] to the north, [[Sudan]] and [[South Sudan]] to the east, and the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] and [[Republic of the Congo]] to the south.<br />
<br />
==Understand==<br />
<br />
===History===<br />
<br />
Until the early 1800s, the peoples of the CAR lived beyond the expanding Islamic frontier in the Sudanic zone of Africa and thus had relatively little contact with outsiders. During the first decades of the nineteenth century, however, Muslim traders increasingly began to penetrate the region of the CAR and to cultivate special relations with local leaders to facilitate their trade and settlement in the region. The initial arrival of Muslim traders in the early 1800s was relatively peaceful and depended upon the support of local peoples, but after about 1850, slave traders with well-armed soldiers began to penetrate the region. <br />
<br />
European penetration of Central African territory began in the late nineteenth century during the so-called Scramble for Africa. The French, Belgian and British competed to establish their claims to territory in the Central African region. <br />
<br />
In 1889 the French established a post on the Ubangi River at [[Bangui]], the future capital of and the CAR and in 1894, the &quot;French Congo's&quot; borders with (Belgian) Congo Free State, now the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] and (German) [[Cameroon]] were fixed by diplomatic agreements. The French named their colony Ubang Shari.<br />
<br />
On 1 December 1958 the colony of Ubangi-Shari became an autonomous territory and took the name Central African Republic. The founding father, Barthélémy Boganda, died in a mysterious plane accident in 1959, just eight days before the last elections of the colonial era. On 13 August 1960 the Central African Republic gained its independence and two of Boganda's closest aides became involved in a power struggle. David Dacko won and by 1962 had established a one-party state.<br />
<br />
Since then a series of coups, including a notorious period under a self-declared emperor, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, and periodic violence from rebel groups, have dealt a very bad lot to the citizens of the Central African Republic. Today, this remains one of the most lawless, dangerous and unstable nations on earth.<br />
<br />
===Climate===<br />
The climate is generally tropical. The northern areas are subject to harmattan winds, which are hot, dry, and carry dust. The northern regions have been subject to desertification, and the northeast is desert. The remainder of the country is prone to flooding from nearby rivers.<br />
<br />
In the November 2008 issue of National Geographic, the Central African Republic was named the country least affected by light pollution.<br />
<br />
==Regions==<br />
<br />
{{Regionlist<br />
| regionmap=CAR regions map.png<br />
| regionmaptext=<br />
| regionmapsize=500px<br />
<br />
| region1name=[[Southwest Central African Republic]]<br />
| region1color=#72c28c<br />
| region1items=<br />
| region1description=The population centre of the country, home to the capital [[Bangui]] and the country's one national park that still attracts adventurous tourists, [[Dzanga Sangha National Reserve|Dzanga-Sangha]].<br />
<br />
| region2name=[[Northwest Central African Republic]]<br />
| region2color=#a9cb8f<br />
| region2items=<br />
| region2description=Home to a significant national park: [[Bamingui-Bangoran National Park|Bamingui-Bangoran]].<br />
<br />
| region3name=[[Southeast Central African Republic]]<br />
| region3color=#769792<br />
| region3items=<br />
| region3description=<br />
<br />
| region4name=[[Northeast Central African Republic]]<br />
| region4color=#d4a768<br />
| region4items=<br />
| region4description=The heart of the rebel movement, this is the C.A.R.'s most dangerous region, a Sahel desert akin to neighboring [[Darfur]] and a major national park, [[Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park|St. Floris]]<br />
<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Cities==<br />
<br />
*[[Bangui]] - the capital<br />
*[[Bambari]]<br />
*[[Bangassou]]<br />
*[[Birao]]<br />
*[[Bossangoa]]<br />
*[[Bouar]]<br />
*[[Bria]]<br />
*[[Mbaiki]]<br />
*[[Nola]]<br />
*[[Sibut]]<br />
<br />
==Other destinations==<br />
<br />
*[[Dzanga Sangha National Reserve|Dzanga-Sangha National Park]]<br />
*[[Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park]] is on the [[UNESCO World Heritage list]].<br />
<br />
*Pygmy settlements in the rainforests surrounding Mbaiki.<br />
<br />
==Get in==<br />
Everyone will need a visa except citizens of Switzerland and Israel.<br />
<br />
Visas can be single entry or multiple entry, but multiple entry is recommended more than single entry. Multiple entry visas usually last a year, whereas the single entry last three months.<br />
<br />
They cost $150 and take two days to process.<br />
<br />
===By bus===<br />
Bus service is available from Cameroon and Chad, although the length and the dangerous countryside makes such bus trips infrequent. In terms of safety and ease of passing through checkpoints, however, traveling by bus is preferable to traveling by 4x4.<br />
<br />
===By boat===<br />
Other African cities and countries are accessible via boats and barges that travel infrequently along the Ubangui river. The Ubangui River flows into the Congo River, which is navigable all the way to Stanley Falls near [[Kinshasa]]/[[Brazzaville]]. Although slow, there are regular (although adhering to no set schedule) barges which travel from Bangui to Kinshasa/Brazzaville.<br />
<br />
==Get around==<br />
<br />
===By bus===<br />
<br />
===By hitchhiking===<br />
<br />
===By boat===<br />
Traditional trade is carried on by means of shallow-draft dugouts. Oubangui is the most important river, navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 m or less. 282 km of waterways are navigable to craft drawing as much as 1.8 m<br />
<br />
==Talk==<br />
<br />
The main language is French with a dialect called Central African French, which is easily understood by speakers of French. There are a lot of indigenous languages also. While French is the official language of the Central African Republic, only a few people in the country know more than a few words of it. <br />
<br />
'''[[Sango phrasebook|Sängö]]''' (also referred to as Sangro or Sangho) is the lingua franca and is spoken by most of the people in the Central African Republic (some 2000 have it as a mother tongue whilst 80% of the country have it as a second language). To find out if someone speaks Sängö, simply say ''Balâo'' (which means Hello), if they respond back with ''Balâo mïngï'' then you have found yourself a sango speaker.<br />
<br />
English is spoken by almost no one, even in the capital.<br />
<br />
==See==<br />
<br />
==Do==<br />
<br />
==Buy==<br />
<br />
===Costs===<br />
Costs in Central African Republic are exorbitant for foreigners who plan to maintain a lifestyle similar to those in their origin country. Much of the commerce and goods must be flown or shipped into the nation, explaining the high costs for many goods. &quot;Local&quot; goods that are imported into CAR from regional nations such as Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon are slightly less expensive (rice, beans, water, etc.). Finally, many of the supermarkets in Bangui and other cities are owned by Lebanese people and families, so there is abundant Middle Eastern food imported into the country, although these products are also very expensive.<br />
<br />
==Eat==<br />
There is a wide diversity of food in Bangui, including Chinese, Lebanese, French, local food and so forth. Food in restaurants owned by foreigners are very expensive and can be $10-$20 US per dish (or more). Local food, however, may also be expensive depending upon the restaurant and its location. There are abundant French bakeries in the downtown area in the centre of Bangui with moderate prices for baked goods as well as meals. Food in supermarkets is very expensive, although cheaper food can be purchased at local markets and from sellers in the street.<br />
<br />
==Drink==<br />
Local beer (&quot;33&quot;, Mocaf, Crystal) and soft drink (MOCAF is a major producer) is similarly priced to products in Europe and the United States. Wine is available in some French wine shops but can be very expensive. Palm wine is common. Water is produced in Cameroon and Central African Republic and can be purchased in all of the local supermarkets. Imported products such as Coca-Cola and Fanta are also available.<br />
<br />
==Sleep==<br />
<br />
==Learn==<br />
English lessons are available at the Martin Luther King centre of the United States embassy. French and Sango lessons are available at the Alliance Francaise. There is also a university in Bangui with university degrees and some graduate programmes.<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
There are myriad opportunities for working by teaching English or for any of a number of humanitarian or religious organisations in the Central African Republic. Many of the streets of Bangui are lined with organisations including MSF (Doctors without Borders), UNICEF, International Red Cross, European Union, WHO, Institut Pasteur, Catholic Relief Serices, COOPI and many others. Most organisations are involved in health and development programmes, although others deal with education, religion, etc. Speaking French is essential for somebody who wants to be effectively involved in working with these organisations, as English is rarely spoken, even in Bangui.<br />
<br />
==Stay safe==<br />
<br />
Hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas. Floods are common.<br />
<br />
Police manning checkpoints ''will'' demand bribes, expect no less than US$5; there are many reports that a trip from the Cameroon border to Bangui will cost hundreds of US dollars or Euros in bribes. Police will often confiscate an item (passport, camera, watch) and demand money for it. Armed robberies on roads in the country are common. Violent crime in the capital is common even in daylight, particularly around the &quot;kilometre 5&quot; bus station. Alcoholism is a major problem with city-dwellers, so be weary of drunks and do not even think about drinking with locals (you ''will'' be out-drunk).<br />
<br />
In March 2003, rebel forces took over the government of the Central African Republic, and the group's leader named himself president. He remains in power today, and despite peaceful elections in March 2005, tourists could be at risk, particularly during public gatherings.<br />
<br />
Nonetheless, South West Central African Republic is a relatively stable and popular tourist destination. No incidents of crime involving tourists have been reported on the road from Bangui to Dzanga Sangha[http://wikitravel.org/en/Dzanga_Sangha_National_Reserve] and many diplomats frequent the region on holiday.<br />
<br />
==Stay healthy==<br />
<br />
Some areas of Bangui have clean and filtered drinking water, so it is safe to drink water served at some restaurants and bars. However, the purity of the water is not reliable and thus it is safer to buy bottled water or boil/filter water. Outside the capital there is no guarantee of water purity. All food should be cooked or peeled prior to being served, particularly food purchased at local markets, where hygiene is a concern. If illness should arise, it is better to seek counsel with one of the doctors at an embassy (the French embassy and US embassy both have fine doctors) or at a clinic at an organisation like Institut Pasteur. The local clinics and hospitals sometimes have a limited supply of necessary resources such as syringes, medicine, etc.<br />
<br />
==Respect==<br />
<br />
The locals often eat with their hands. If you are eating with them, and using your hands as well, be sure to eat with your right hand. The left is generally used for bathroom purposes, and therefore it is rude/unappealing to them if you eat with your left hand.<br />
<br />
==Contact==<br />
<br />
{{outline}}<br />
{{isPartOf|Central_Africa}}<br />
{{Countryguide}}<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
[[de:Zentralafrikanische Republik]]<br />
[[eo:Centr-Afrika Respubliko]]<br />
[[es:República Centroafricana]]<br />
[[fi:Keski-Afrikan tasavalta]]<br />
[[fr:République centrafricaine]]<br />
[[hu:Közép-afrikai Köztársaság]]<br />
[[it:Repubblica Centrafricana]]<br />
[[ja:中央アフリカ共和国]]<br />
[[nl:Centraal-Afrikaanse Republiek]]<br />
[[pl:Republika Środkowoafrykańska]]<br />
[[pt:República Centro-Africana]]<br />
[[ru:Центральноафриканская Республика]]<br />
[[sv:Centralafrikanska republiken]]<br />
[[wts:Category:Central African Republic]]<br />
<br />
<br />
[[WikiPedia:Central African Republic]]<br />
[[Dmoz:Africa/Central African Republic/]]<br />
[[World66:africa/centralafricanrepublic]]</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Velankanni&diff=1938583Velankanni2012-10-07T17:36:33Z<p>AHeneen: Undo revision 1938416 by 141.0.9.5 (talk)</p>
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<div>'''Vailankanni''' is a city in [[Tamil Nadu]] in [[India]].<br />
<br />
==Understand==<br />
Velankanni is a major piligrimage center for the catholic community in India. It is the location of the Shrine of Our lady of Good Health dedicated to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
==Get in==<br />
<br />
===By air===<br />
Nearest airport is Tiruchirappali that is about 165 kilometers from here. It is well connected to rest of India. <br />
<br />
===By rail===<br />
Vailankanni now has got its own railway station. Trains ply between Vailankanni and Nagapattinam/Nagore (train numbers 76813, 76817) every day. Check the Indian railway website[www.indiarailinfo.com] for more information.<br />
<br />
===By road===<br />
Buses are available for Chidambaram, Chennai, Madurai, Pondicherry, Trichy(141kms) and Thanjavur (89kms). Buses run from Nagapattinam.<br />
Velankanni is connected to all the major towns and cities in and around Tamilnadu. Regular bus services are available to Chennai, Madurai, Trichy, Kanyakumari, Thanjavur and Pondicherry etc.<br />
<br />
====From Chennai==== <br />
'''Universal Travels''' operates bus service from Chennai to Velankanni, the bus is a AC Seater bus. It departs from Chennai at 1pm.The Fare is Approximately 360 INR.There is a Non A/C Seater/Sleeper which departs from Chennai at 9pm and the fare is 310 INR/370 INR.There is a Non A/C Seater/Sleeper which departs from Chennai at 10pm and the fare is 300 INR/370 INR.There is a Non A/C Seater which departs from Chennai at 11pm and the fare is 360 INR.One can book the tickets from the following website.<br />
http://www.universaltravels.in/site/unisite/index.jsp<br />
<br />
'''RathiMeena Travels''' operates bus service from Chennai to Velankanni, the bus is a Volvo AC Seater bus. It departs from Chennai at 1:30pm and reaches Velankanni at 8pm.The Fare is Approximately 440 INR.<br />
<br />
'''PRN Subramanian Travels''' operates bus service from Chennai to Velankanni, the bus is a Volvo AC Seater bus. It departs from Chennai at 1:30pm and reaches Velankanni at 8pm.The Fare is Approximately 340 INR.<br />
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====From Bangalore==== <br />
'''Gokulraj Travels''' operates bus service from Bangalore to Velankanni, the bus is a non AC Seater bus. It departs from Bangalore at 9pm and reaches Velankanni at 6am the next day.The Fare is Approximately 490 INR<br />
<br />
'''SPS Travels(Rukma Travels)''' operates 2 buses from Bangalore to Velankanni, the bus is a non AC Seater/Sleeper bus. It departs from Bangalore at 9pm and reaches Velankanni at 8am the next day.The Fare is Approximately 460 INR TO 550 INR<br />
<br />
'''Universal Travels''' operates bus service from Bangalore to Velankanni, the bus is a non AC Seater/Sleeper bus. It departs from Bangalore at 8pm and reaches Velankanni at 5am the next day.The Fare is Approximately 500 INR. One can book the tickets from the following website.<br />
http://www.universaltravels.in/site/unisite/index.jsp<br />
<br />
==Get around==<br />
<br />
==See==<br />
Vailankanni church was raised to the status of basilica in 1962 by His Holiness Pope John XXIII.<br />
<br />
==Do==<br />
<br />
==Buy==<br />
<br />
==Eat==<br />
Try the fresh fish fries available at the sea side ... made as your choice ...but only if you are satisfied with cleanliness.<br />
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==Drink==<br />
Velankanni is a coastal area.Therefore it is very hot during summer. There are a lot of shops selling cold water and other cold drinks(non alcoholic).<br />
==Sleep==<br />
The church authorities have simple affordable rooms beginning from Rs.60 to Rs 300.There are also other private hotels/lodges.<br />
<br />
==Contact==<br />
<br />
==Get out==<br />
<br />
{{IsPartOf|Northern Coast}}<br />
{{outline}}<br />
{{cityguide}}</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=United_States_of_America&diff=1938310United States of America2012-10-06T22:53:47Z<p>AHeneen: Reverted edits by 37.243.114.249 (Talk) to last version by 119.2.105.79</p>
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<div>{{quickbar<br />
| image=[[Image:Mount rushmore by dean franklin.jpg|noframe|250px]]<br />
| flag=[[Image:us-flag.png]]<br />
| location=[[Image:AmericaWorldMap.PNG|250px|noframe]]<br />
| capital=[[Washington, D.C.]]<br />
| government=Federal Republic<br />
| currency=U.S. dollar (USD)<br />
| area=3,755,241 miles&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; (9,631,418 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;)<br />
| population=308,745,538 (April 2010 est.)<br />
| language=English 82.1%, [[Spanish]] 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)<br />
| religion=Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)<br />
| electricity=120V / 60Hz<br />
| callingcode=+1<br />
| tld=.us, .edu, .gov, .mil (most sites use .com, .net, .org)<br />
| timezone=UTC -4 to UTC -10<br />
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The '''United States of America''' [http://www.discoveramerica.com] is a large country in [[North America]], often referred to as the &quot;USA,&quot; the &quot;U.S.,&quot; the &quot;United States,&quot; &quot;America,&quot; or simply &quot;the States&quot;. It has a land area of about 9.6 million sq km (about half the size of [[Russia]] and about the same size as [[China]]). It also boasts the world's third largest population, with over 310 million people. It includes both densely-populated cities with sprawling suburbs, and vast, uninhabited and naturally beautiful areas. With its history of mass immigration dating from the 17th century, it is a &quot;melting pot&quot; of cultures from around the world.<br />
<br />
The country plays a dominant role in the world's cultural landscape, and is famous for its wide array of popular tourist destinations, ranging from the skyscrapers of [[Manhattan]] and [[Chicago]], to the natural wonders of [[Yellowstone]] and [[Alaska]], to the warm, sunny beaches of [[Florida]], [[Hawaii]] and [[Southern California]].<br />
<br />
==Understand==<br />
<br />
The United States is not the America of television and movies. It is large, complex, and diverse, with distinct regional identities. Due to the distances involved, traveling between regions can be time-consuming and expensive.<br />
<br />
===Geography===<br />
<br />
The '''contiguous United States''' or &quot;Lower 48&quot; (the 48 states other than Alaska and Hawaii) are bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west, with much of the population living on these two coasts. Its only land borders are shared with [[Canada]] to the north, and [[Mexico]] to the south. The U.S. also shares maritime borders with [[Russia]], [[Cuba]], and the [[Bahamas]].<br />
<br />
The country has three major mountain ranges. The '''[[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachians]]''' extend from Canada to the state of [[Alabama]], a few hundred miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. They are the oldest of the three mountain ranges and offer spectacular sightseeing and excellent camping spots. The '''[[Rocky Mountains (United States of America)|Rockies]]''' are, on average, the highest in North America, extending from Alaska to [[New Mexico]], with many areas protected as national parks. They offer hiking, camping, skiing, and sightseeing opportunities. The combined '''[[Sierra Nevada]]''' and '''Cascade''' ranges are the youngest. The Sierras extend across the &quot;backbone&quot; of [[California]], with sites such as [[Lake Tahoe]] and [[Yosemite National Park]], then give way to the even younger volcanic Cascade range, with some of the highest points in the country.<br />
<br />
The [[Great Lakes]] define much of the border between the eastern United States and Canada. More inland seas than lakes, they were formed by the pressure of glaciers retreating north at the end of the last Ice Age. The five lakes span hundreds of miles, bordering the states of [[Minnesota]], [[Wisconsin]], [[Illinois]], [[Indiana]], [[Michigan]], [[Ohio]], [[Pennsylvania]] and [[New York (state)|New York]], and their shores vary from pristine wilderness areas to industrial &quot;rust belt&quot; cities. They are the second-largest bodies of freshwater in the world, after the polar ice caps.<br />
<br />
[[Image:Grand Tetons Wyoming USA.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Grand Teton National Park|Grand Tetons]], [[Rocky Mountains (United States of America)|Rocky Mountains]], [[Wyoming]] ]]<br />
<br />
===Climate===<br />
<br />
The overall climate is '''temperate''', with notable exceptions. Alaska has Arctic tundra, while Hawaii and [[South Florida]] are '''tropical'''. The [[Great Plains]] are dry, flat and grassy, turning into arid '''desert''' in the far West and '''Mediterranean''' along the California coast.<br />
<br />
In the winter, the northern and mid-western major cities can see as much as 2 feet (61 cm) of snowfall in one day, with cold temperatures. Summers are humid, but mild. Temperatures over 100&amp;deg;F (38&amp;deg;C) sometimes invade the Midwest and Great Plains. Some areas in the northern plains can experience cold temperatures of -30&amp;deg;F (-34&amp;deg;C) during the winter. Temperatures below 0&amp;deg;F (-18&amp;deg;C) sometimes reach as far south as [[Oklahoma]].<br />
<br />
The climate of the [[South (United States of America)|South]] also varies. In the summer, it is hot and humid, but from October through April the weather can range from 60&amp;deg;F (15&amp;deg;C) to short cold spells of 20&amp;deg;F (-7&amp;deg;C) or so.<br />
<br />
The Great Plains and [[Midwest (United States of America)|Midwestern]] states also experience '''tornadoes''' from the late spring to early fall, earlier in the south and later in the north. States along the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico, may experience '''hurricanes''' between June and November. These intense and dangerous storms frequently miss the U.S. mainland, but evacuations are often ordered and should be heeded. <br />
<br />
The Rockies are cold and snowy. Some parts of the Rockies see over 500 inches (1,200 cm) of snow in a season. Even during the summer, temperatures are cool in the mountains, and snow can fall nearly year-round. It is dangerous to go up in the mountains unprepared in the winter and the roads through them can get very icy.<br />
<br />
The deserts of the [[Southwest (United States of America)|Southwest]] are hot and dry during the summer, with temperatures often exceeding 100&amp;deg;F (38&amp;deg;C). Thunderstorms can be expected in the southwest frequently from July through September. Winters are mild, and snow is unusual. Average annual precipitation is low, usually less than 10 inches (25 cm).<br />
<br />
Cool and damp weather is common in the coastal northwest (Oregon and Washington west of the Cascade Range, and the northern part of California west of the Coast Ranges/Cascades). Rain is most frequent in winter, snow is rare, especially along the coast, and extreme temperatures are uncommon. Rain falls almost exclusively from late fall through early spring along the coast. East of the Cascades, the northwest is considerably drier. Much of the inland northwest is either semi-arid or desert, though altitude and weather patterns may result in wetter climates in some areas. <br />
<br />
Northeastern and cities of the Upper South are known for summers with temperatures reaching into the 90's (32&amp;deg;C) or more, with extremely high humidity, usually over 80%. This can be a drastic change from the Southwest. High humidity means that the temperature can feel hotter than actual readings. The Northeast also experiences snow, and at least once every few years there will be a dumping of the white stuff in enormous quantities.<br />
<br />
===History===<br />
<br />
[[Image:Alamo San Antonio Texas USA.jpg|thumb|250px|The Alamo, [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]] ]]<br />
<br />
The United States was initially populated by people believed to have migrated from northeast Asia. In the United States their descendants are known as '''Native Americans''', or '''American Indians'''. While Native Americans are often portrayed living a singular, usually primitive lifestyle, in fact prior to European contact the continent was densely populated with sophisticated societies. The Cherokee, for example, are descended from the overarching Mississippian culture which built huge mounds and large towns that covered the landscape, while the Anasazi built elaborate cliff-side towns in the Southwest. As was the case in other nations in the Americas, the primitive existence depicted of Native Americans is generally the result of mass die-outs triggered by Old World diseases such as smallpox. In effect they were a post-apocalyptic people.<br />
<br />
During the 16th and 17th Centuries, the continent began to be colonized by European nations; [[Spain]], [[France]], [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Sweden]], and Russia established colonies in various parts of the area. The British colonies in [[Virginia]] and [[Massachusetts]] formed the kernel of what is now known as the United States of America.<br />
<br />
Massachusetts was first settled by religious immigrants&amp;mdash;'''Puritans'''&amp;mdash;who later spread and founded most of the other New England colonies, creating a highly religious and idealistic region. Other religious groups also founded colonies, including the '''Quakers''' in [[Pennsylvania]] and '''Roman Catholics''' in [[Maryland]].<br />
<br />
Virginia, on the other hand, became the most dominant of the southern colonies. Because of a longer growing season, these colonies had richer agricultural prospects, especially for cotton and tobacco. As in Central and South America, African slaves were imported and forced to cultivate large plantations. '''Slavery''' became an important part of the economy in the South, a fact that would cause tremendous upheaval in the years to come.<br />
<br />
By the early 18th Century, the United Kingdom had a number of colonies along the Atlantic coast from [[Georgia (state)|Georgia]] north into what is now Canada. On '''4 July 1776''', colonists from '''13 colonies''', frustrated with overseas rule and encouraged by Enlightenment philosophy, declared independence from Great Britain. The resulting '''Revolutionary War''' lasted until 1783, with the Americans taking control of all British land between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River.<br />
<br />
After a largely unsuccessful first attempt at establishing a national government, in 1788 the country created the United States Constitution, inspired by Enlightenment-era ideas about individual liberty. '''George Washington''', the commanding general of American forces during the War, was elected the first President of the United States. By the turn of the 19th Century, a national capital had been established in [[Washington, D.C.]].<br />
<br />
As American and European settlers pushed farther west, past the Appalachians, the United States began admitting new states. This was enabled by the displacement and decimation of the Native American populations through warfare and disease. In what became known as the '''Trail of Tears''', many Native American tribes in the east were forcibly relocated to lands in present-day Oklahoma, which was known as &quot;Indian Territory&quot; until the early 20th Century. The '''Louisiana Purchase''' of 1803 brought French-owned territory extending from the Mississippi River to parts of the present-day American West under American control, effectively doubling the country's land area.<br />
<br />
The United States fought the War of 1812 with Britain in an attempt to reassert its authority and to capture Canada. Though dramatic battles were fought, including one that ended with the British Army burning the White House, Capitol, and other public buildings in Washington, DC, the war ended in a virtual stalemate, and territorial boundaries between the two nations remained nearly the same. Nevertheless, the war had disastrous consequences for the western Native American tribes that had allied with the British, with the United States acquiring more and more of their territory for white settlers.<br />
<br />
Florida was purchased in 1813 from Spain after the American military had effectively subjugated the region. The next major territorial acquisition came after American settlers in Texas rebelled against the Mexican government, setting up a short-lived independent republic that was absorbed into the union. The '''Mexican-American War''' of 1848 won the northern territories of Mexico, including the future states of California, [[Nevada]], [[Utah]], [[Arizona]] and New Mexico, giving the continental United States the rough outlines it has today. Many Native Americans were relegated to reservations by treaty, military force, and by the inadvertent spread of European diseases transmitted by large numbers of settlers moving west along the '''Oregon Trail''' and other routes.<br />
<br />
By the late 1850s many Americans were calling for the abolition of slavery. The rapidly industrializing North, where slavery had been outlawed several decades before, favored national abolition. Southern states, on the other hand, believed that individual states had the right to decide whether or not slavery should be legal. Beginning in 1861 the Southern states, fearing domination by the North and the avowedly anti-slavery President '''Abraham Lincoln''', seceded from the Union and formed the breakaway '''Confederate States of America'''. These events sparked the '''American Civil War'''. To date, it is the bloodiest conflict on American soil, costing hundreds of thousands of lives. In 1865, Northern forces prevailed, firmly cementing the federal government's authority over the states, and began the re-assimilation of the Confederacy, a period known as '''Reconstruction'''. Slavery was abolished by Constitutional amendment, but the former slaves and their descendants were to remain an economic and social underclass, particularly in the South.<br />
<br />
The United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, and the previously independent Hawaii was annexed in 1898. After decisively defeating Spain in the '''Spanish-American War''', the United States gained its first &quot;colonial&quot; territories: Cuba (granted independence a few years later), the [[Philippines]] (granted independence shortly after World War II), [[Puerto Rico]] and [[Guam]] (which remain American dependencies today).<br />
<br />
In the eastern cities of the United States, Southern and Eastern Europeans, and Russian Jews joined Irish refugees to become a cheap labor force for the country's growing '''industrialization'''. Many Southern African-Americans fled rural poverty for industrial jobs in the North. Other immigrants, including many Scandinavians and Germans, moved to the now-opened territories in the West and Midwest, where land was available for free to anyone who would develop it. A network of '''railroads''' crisscrossed the country, accelerating development.<br />
<br />
With its entrance into '''World War I''' in 1917, the United States established itself as a world power by helping to defeat Germany and the Central Powers. However after the war, despite its strong support from President Woodrow Wilson, the United States refused to join the newly-formed League of Nations, which substantially hindered that body's effectiveness in preventing future conflicts. Real wealth grew rapidly in this period. In the '''Roaring 20s''' stock speculation created an immense &quot;bubble&quot; which, when it burst in October 1929, contributed to economic havoc, known as the '''Great Depression'''. The Depression was devastating, but it created a culture of sacrifice and hard work that would serve the country well in the coming conflict.<br />
<br />
In December 1941 Japan, attacked '''Pearl Harbor''', a American military base in Hawaii, plunging the United States into '''World War II''', which had been raging in Europe for two years and in Asia prior to World War I. In alliance with the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, the United States helped to defeat the Axis powers of [[Italy]], [[Germany]], and [[Japan]]. By the end of World War II the United States firmly established itself as the dominant economic power in the world, responsible for nearly half of the world's industrial production. The newly developed atomic bomb, whose power was demonstrated in two bombings of Japan in 1945, made the United States the only force capable of challenging the Communist Soviet Union, giving rise to what is now known as the '''Cold War'''. <br />
<br />
After World War II, America experienced far greater affluence. In the 1960s a '''civil rights movement''' emerged which eliminated most of the institutional discrimination against African-Americans, particularly in the Southern states. A revived women's movement in the 1970s also led to wide-ranging changes in American society. After World War II the United States also saw a shift to an economy primarily based on technology rather than agriculture. Today, many of the leading technology companies are based in the United States (especially on the Pacific Coast). The United States also took the lead in military and space technology.<br />
<br />
The 1950s saw the beginnings of a major shift of population to the suburbs and largely contributed to the rise of the American car culture and the convenience of fast food restaurants. The '''Interstate Highway System''', constructed primarily from the 1960s to the 1980s, became perhaps the most comprehensive freeway system in the world. Major chain stores began popping up in cities across the country, and some later spread to foreign countries. The American consumer culture, as well as Hollywood movies and many forms of popular music, arguably established the United States as the cultural center of the world.<br />
<br />
===Government and politics===<br />
<br />
The United States is a federal republic comprising 50 states, the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.), and several dependent areas including Puerto Rico and Guam. The federal government derives its power from the Constitution of the United States, the oldest written constitution in the world in continuous use. Although federal law supersedes state law in the event of conflict, each state maintains its own constitution and government, effectively retaining considerable autonomy within the federation. State laws can vary widely from one state to another but are, for the most part, fairly uniform.<br />
<br />
The federal government consists of the President of the United States and his administration acting as the executive branch, the United States Congress acting as the legislative branch, and the Supreme Court of the United States and lower federal courts acting as the judicial branch. State government structures are organized similarly, with governors, legislatures, and judiciaries.<br />
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The President of the United States is elected indirectly every four years by the people via an electoral college, and serves as both head of government and head of state. The Congress is bicameral; the lower House of Representatives has seats assigned to the states proportionally, while the upper house, the Senate, comprises exactly two seats per state. The District of Columbia has no representation in either house of Congress, though it is entitled to three electoral votes in presidential elections.<br />
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The United States has two major political parties at both the federal and state levels, the Republican Party, and the Democratic Party. Their dominance over the American political landscape has remained largely unchallenged since the end of the American Civil War. While smaller political parties exist, the American winner-take-all electoral system means that they are rarely competitive in elections at any level.<br />
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===Culture===<br />
<br />
[[Image:Bourbon Street New Orleans Louisiana USA.jpg|thumb|250px| The South's famous Bourbon Street, [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]] ]]<br />
<br />
The United States is made up of many diverse ethnic groups and the culture varies greatly across the vast area of the country and even within cities - a city like New York will have dozens, if not hundreds, of different ethnicities represented within a neighborhood. Despite this difference, there exists a strong sense of national identity and certain predominant cultural traits. Generally, Americans tend to believe strongly in personal responsibility and that an individual determines his or her own success or failure, but it is important to note that there are many exceptions and that a nation as diverse as the United States has literally thousands of distinct cultural traditions. One will find Mississippi in the South to be very different culturally from Massachusetts in the North.<br />
<br />
===Holidays===<br />
<br />
The United States has a number of holidays — official and/or cultural — of which the traveler should be aware. Note that holidays observed on Mondays or Fridays are usually treated as weekend-long events. (A weekend consists of a Saturday and a Sunday.) Federal holidays — i.e., holidays observed by the federal government — are indicated in '''''bold italics'''''. If a federal holiday with a fixed calendar date (such as Independence Day) falls on a weekend, federal and most state offices will be closed on the nearest non-weekend day. Since the early 1970s several federal holidays, including Memorial Day and Labor Day, have been observed on a certain Monday rather than on a fixed date for the express purpose of giving federal employees three-day weekends. <br />
<br />
Due to the number of major holidays in close proximity to each other, many Americans refer to the period between Thanksgiving in late November and New Year's Day as simply &quot;the holidays.&quot; School and work vacations are commonly taken during this period.<br />
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*'''''New Year's Day''''' (1 January) — most non-retail businesses closed; parades; brunches and football parties.<br />
*'''''Martin Luther King Day''''' (third Monday in January) — many government offices and banks closed; speeches, especially on African-American history and culture.<br />
*'''Chinese New Year''' (January/February — varies based on the Chinese lunar calendar) — Chinese cultural celebration.<br />
*'''Super Bowl Sunday''' (usu. first Sunday in February) — The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the NFL American football league and the most-watched sporting event of the year; supermarkets, bars, and electronics stores busy; big football-watching parties.<br />
*'''(St.) Valentine's Day''' (14 February) — private celebration of romance and love. Most restaurants are crowded; finer restaurants may require reservations made well in advance.<br />
*'''''Presidents Day''''' (third Monday in February; officially '''Washington's Birthday''') — many government offices and banks closed; many stores have sales.<br />
*'''St. Patrick's Day''' (17 March) — Irish-themed parades and parties. Expect bars to be crowded. They will often feature themed drink specials. The wearing of green or a green accessory is common.<br />
*'''Easter''' (a Sunday in March or April) — Christian religious observances. Depending on location, many restaurants, including franchised outlets of major national chains, may close. Major retailers generally open; smaller shops may or may not close.<br />
*'''Passover''' (varies based on the Jewish calendar, eight days around Easter) — Jewish religious observance.<br />
*'''Cinco de Mayo''' (5 May) — A minor holiday in most of Mexico often incorrectly assumed to be Mexican independence day, but nevertheless a major cultural celebration for Mexican-Americans. As with St. Patrick's Day, expect bars to be crowded, frequently with themed drink specials.<br />
*'''''Memorial Day''''' (last Monday in May) — most non-retail businesses closed; some patriotic observances; trips to beaches and parks; ''traditional beginning of summer tourism season''.<br />
*'''''Independence Day / Fourth of July''''' (4 July) — most non-retail businesses closed; patriotic parades and concerts, cookouts and trips to beaches and parks, fireworks at dusk.<br />
*'''''Labor Day''''' (first Monday in September) — most non-retail businesses closed; cookouts and trips to beaches and parks; many stores have sales; ''traditional ending of summer tourism season''.<br />
*'''Rosh Hashanah''' and '''Yom Kippur''' (varies based on the Jewish calendar, September or early October) — Jewish religious observances. <br />
*'''''Columbus Day''''' (second Monday in October) — many government offices and banks closed; some stores have sales. Columbus Day can be controversial, especially among Native Americans, and is not as widely observed as it was in the past.<br />
*'''Halloween''' (31 October) — trick-or-treating, parades, and costume parties.<br />
*'''''Veterans Day''''' (11 November) — government offices and banks closed; some patriotic observances.<br />
*'''''Thanksgiving Day''''' (fourth Thursday in November) — almost all businesses closed, ''including grocery stores and many restaurants''; family dinners. The next day, known as &quot;Black Friday,&quot; major Christmas shopping traditionally begins. Many non-retail employees are given Friday off or take it as a holiday.<br />
*'''Hanukkah / Chanukah''' (varies based on the Jewish calendar, eight days usually in December) — Jewish religious observance, often culturally associated with Christmas.<br />
*'''''Christmas''''' (25 December) — almost all businesses, ''grocery stores, and many restaurants'' closed the evening before and all day. Families and close friends exchange gifts; Christian religious observances.<br />
*'''Kwanzaa''' (26 December-1 January) — African-American cultural observance. <br />
*'''New Year's Eve''' (31 December) — many restaurants and bars open late; lots of parties, especially in big cities.<br />
<br />
If you are a foreigner who needs to apply for a US visa, it is important to note the federal holidays marked in ''bold italics'' as all US embassies worldwide will close on those days and will be unable to process applications on those days in addition to the holidays in your homecountry.<br />
<br />
Some state governments also have a few of their own official holidays not observed in other states.<br />
<br />
=== Units of measure ===<br />
The United States is the only industrialized country that still uses solely customary units of measures (except for scientific and military applications). &lt;!-- Britain mixes Imperial and metric measures constantly, both officially and in casual practice, so be careful about saying the U.S. is the &quot;only&quot; country--&gt; All road signs and speed limits are posted in miles and miles per hour respectively; gas prices and the capacity of liquid products are quoted and sold per gallon, quart, or ounce. Temperatures are reported in Fahrenheit only; 32 degrees (with units unspecified) is freezing, not at all warm! The good news is that most cars on the road in the USA have both miles and kilometers indicated by their speedometers (good for trips to Canada and Mexico), and almost all groceries and household items sold in stores are labeled in both systems. The vast majority of Americans, though, have little day-to-day exposure to the metric system and will assume you understand customary measures.<br />
<br />
In addition, the U.S. government does not regulate apparel or shoe sizes. Although there are informal standard sizes, they are not strictly enforced; the only thing you can count on is that sizes tend to be consistent within the same brand. If you plan to shop for apparel or shoes, you will have to do some trial-and-error for ''each'' brand to determine what fits, because you cannot count on any brand's sizes as equivalent to another.<br />
<br />
=== For more information ===<br />
<br />
The federal government of the U.S. sets foreign policy, while the states deal with tourism. As such, the Federal government provides the best information about legal requirements for entry, while information about places to visit and see will be provided by the state and local tourism bureaus. Contact information is available in the individual state entries. At state borders, highway rest stops usually serve as Visitor's Centers and often offer travel and tourism information and material, almost all of which is available online. If you call or write the state Commerce department, they can also mail you information. Nearly every rest stop has a posted road map with a clearly indicated &quot;You Are Here&quot; marker. Some also offer free paper roadmaps to take with you.<br />
<br />
==Regions==<br />
<br />
The United States is composed of 50 '''states''', as well as the city of [[Washington, D.C.]], a federal district and the nation's capital. Below is a rough grouping of these states into regions, from the Atlantic to the Pacific:<br />
<br />
{{Regionlist<br />
| regionmap=Map-USA-Regions02.png<br />
| regionmaptext=Map of the USA<br />
| regionmapsize=475px<br />
<br />
| region1name=[[New England]]<br />
| region1color=#c68d98<br />
| region1items=[[Connecticut]], [[Maine]], [[Massachusetts]], [[New Hampshire]], [[Rhode Island]], [[Vermont]]<br />
| region1description=Home to gabled churches, rustic antiques, and steeped in American history, New England offers beaches, spectacular seafood, rugged mountains, frequent winter snows, and some of the nation's oldest cities, in a territory small enough to tour (hastily) in a week.<br />
<br />
| region2name=[[Mid-Atlantic]]<br />
| region2color=#a9a567<br />
| region2items=[[Delaware]], [[Maryland]], [[New Jersey]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[Pennsylvania]]<br />
| region2description=Ranging from New York in the north to [[Washington, D.C.]], the Mid-Atlantic is home to some of the nation's most densely populated cities, as well as historic sites, rolling mountains, the New Jersey [[Pine Barrens]], the [[Lehigh Valley]], and seaside resorts like the [[Long Island]] beaches and the [[Jersey Shore]].<br />
<br />
| region3name=[[South (United States of America)|South]]<br />
| region3color=#c39dc3<br />
| region3items=[[Alabama]], [[Arkansas]], [[Georgia (state)|Georgia]], [[Kentucky]], [[Louisiana]], [[Mississippi]], [[North Carolina]], [[South Carolina]], [[Tennessee]], [[Virginia]], [[West Virginia]]<br />
| region3description=The South is celebrated for its hospitality, down-home cooking and its blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll, and country music traditions. This lush, largely subtropical region includes cool, verdant mountains, agricultural plantations, and vast cypress swamps.<br />
<br />
| region4name=[[Florida]]<br />
| region4color=#ffd0d0<br />
| region4items=<br />
| region4description= Northern Florida is similar to the rest of the South, but is not so in the resorts of [[Orlando]], retirement communities, tropical Caribbean-influenced [[Miami]], the [[Everglades National Park|Everglades]], and 1,200 miles of sandy beaches.<br />
<br />
| region5name=[[Midwest (United States of America)|Midwest]]<br />
| region5color=#4da9c4<br />
| region5items=[[Illinois]], [[Indiana]], [[Iowa]], [[Michigan]], [[Minnesota]], [[Missouri]], [[Ohio]], [[Wisconsin]]<br />
| region5description=The Midwest is home to farmland, forests, picturesque towns, industrial cities, and the [[Great Lakes]], the largest system of freshwater lakes in the world, forming the ''North Coast'' of the U.S.<br />
<br />
| region6name=[[Texas]]<br />
| region6color=#80a8ae<br />
| region6items=<br />
| region6description=The second biggest state in the nation is like a separate country (and in fact, once was), with strong cultural influences from its Spanish and Mexican past. The terrain ranges from southeastern swamplands to the cattle-ranching South Plains to the sandy beaches of South Texas to the mountains and deserts of West Texas.<br />
<br />
| region7name=[[Great Plains]]<br />
| region7color=#d5dc76<br />
| region7items=[[North Dakota]], [[South Dakota]], [[Nebraska]], [[Kansas]], [[Oklahoma]]<br />
| region7description=Travel westward through these supposedly flat states, from the edge of the eastern forests through the prairies and onto the High Plains, an enormous expanse of steppes (shortgrass prairies) nearly as desolate as in the frontier days.<br />
<br />
| region8name=[[Rocky Mountains (United States of America)|Rocky Mountains]]<br />
| region8color=#80bb89<br />
| region8items=[[Colorado]], [[Idaho]], [[Montana]], [[Wyoming]]<br />
| region8description=The spectacular snow-covered [[Rocky Mountains (United States of America)|Rockies]] offer hiking, rafting, and excellent snow skiing as well as deserts, and some large cities.<br />
<br />
| region9name=[[Southwest (United States of America)|Southwest]]<br />
| region9color=#d7a35a<br />
| region9items=[[Arizona]], [[New Mexico]], [[Nevada]], [[Utah]]<br />
| region9description=Heavily influenced by Spanish and Mexican culture, this area is home to some of the nation's most spectacular natural attractions and some flourishing artistic communities. Although mostly empty, the region's deserts have some of the nation's largest cities.<br />
<br />
| region10name=[[California]]<br />
| region10color=#d56d76<br />
| region10items=<br />
| region10description=Like the Southwest, California has a history under Spanish and Mexican rule and is heavily influenced by Spanish and Mexican culture. California offers world-class cities, deserts, rain forests, snowy mountains, and beautiful beaches. Northern California (around the San Francisco Bay Area) and Southern California (around Los Angeles) are culturally distinct.<br />
<br />
| region11name=[[Pacific Northwest]]<br />
| region11color=#9791ad<br />
| region11items=[[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Oregon]]<br />
| region11description=The pleasantly mild Pacific Northwest offers outdoor pursuits as well as cosmopolitan cities. The terrain ranges from spectacular rain forests to scenic mountains and volcanoes to beautiful coastlines to sage-covered steppes and deserts.<br />
<br />
| region12name=[[Alaska]]<br />
| region12color=#578e86<br />
| region12items=<br />
| region12description=One fifth as large as the rest of the United States, Alaska reaches well into the Arctic, and features mountainous wilderness.<br />
<br />
| region13name=[[Hawaii]]<br />
| region13color=#4f93c0<br />
| region13items=<br />
| region13description=A volcanic archipelago in the tropical Pacific, 2,300 miles south west of California (the nearest state), laid-back Hawaii is a vacation paradise.<br />
<br />
}}<br />
<br />
Politically, the U.S. is a federation of '''states''', each with its own rights and powers (hence the name). The U.S. also administers a motley collection of non-state '''territories''' around the world, the largest of which are [[Puerto Rico]] (which has the special status of a &quot;commonwealth&quot;) and the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] in the [[Caribbean]] plus [[American Samoa]], [[Guam]] and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] in [[Oceania]].<br />
<br />
==Cities==<br />
<br />
[[Image:White House south facade by Wadester16.JPG|thumb|right|250px|White House south facade, Washington, D.C.]]<br />
<br />
&lt;!-- <br />
<br />
READ THIS ==&gt;<br />
READ THIS ==&gt; This list is meant to be only a SMALL REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE of <br />
READ THIS ==&gt; cities in the U.S.<br />
READ THIS ==&gt; We know you want to see your city listed here, but in the interest<br />
READ THIS ==&gt; of keeping the list manageable a consensus was reached to limit<br />
READ THIS ==&gt; the list to nine ( 9 ). Please discuss on the talk page under &quot;Sample<br />
READ THIS ==&gt; Cities&quot; before adding more or deleting any. <br />
READ THIS ==&gt;<br />
<br />
--&gt;<br />
The United States has over 10,000 cities, towns, and villages. The following is a list of '''nine''' of the most notable. Other cities can be found in their corresponding [[United_States_of_America#Regions|regions]].<br />
<br />
*[[Washington, D.C.]] — the national capital, filled with major museums and monuments, along with multi-cultural communities<br />
*[[Boston]] — best known for its colonial history, its passion for sports, and its university students<br />
*[[Chicago]] — heart of the Midwest and transportation hub of the nation, with massive skyscrapers and other architectural gems<br />
*[[Los Angeles]] — home of the film industry, musical artists, and surfers, with beautiful mild weather, great natural beauty from mountains to beaches, and endless stretches of freeways and smog<br />
*[[Miami]] — attracts sun-seeking northerners and home to a rich, vibrant, Latin-influenced, Caribbean culture<br />
*[[New Orleans]] — &quot;The Big Easy&quot; is the birthplace of Jazz, and is known for its quaint French Quarter and annual Mardi Gras celebration<br />
*[[New York City]] — the country's largest city, home of the financial services and media industries, with world-class cuisine, arts, architecture, and shopping<br />
*[[San Francisco]] — the City by the Bay, featuring the Golden Gate Bridge, vibrant urban neighborhoods, and dramatic fog<br />
*[[Seattle]] — rich museums, monuments, and recreational opportunities, and five distinct climates within 200 miles (321 km)<br />
<br />
==Other destinations==<br />
<br />
&lt;!-- this list is meant to be only a representative sample of major non-city destinations in the US, not a complete list. Please discuss on the talk page before adding more. --&gt;<br />
<br />
[[Image:Grand-canyon-D7498.JPG|thumb|250px|The [[Grand Canyon]], [[Arizona]] ]]<br />
These are some of the largest and most famous destinations outside of major cities.<br />
<br />
* [[Denali National Park]] — a remote national park featuring North America's highest peak<br />
* [[Grand Canyon]] — the world's longest and most visited canyon<br />
* [[Mesa Verde National Park]] — well-preserved Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings<br />
* [[Mount Rushmore National Memorial|Mount Rushmore]] — the iconic memorial of 4 former presidents carved into a cliff face<br />
* [[Niagara_Falls_(New_York)|Niagara Falls]] — the massive waterfalls straddling the border with Canada<br />
* [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]] — national park in the southern Appalachians<br />
* [[Walt Disney World]] — the most popular vacation resort destination in the world<br />
* [[Yellowstone National Park]] — the first national park in the U.S., and home of the Old Faithful geyser<br />
* [[Yosemite National Park]] — home of El Capitan and the famous Giant Sequoia trees<br />
<br />
==Get in==<br />
<br />
The United States has '''exceptionally onerous and complicated''' visa requirements. Read up carefully before your visit, especially if you need to apply for a visa, and consult the Bureau of Consular Affairs [http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1265.html]. Travelers have been refused entry for many reasons, often trivial.<br />
<br />
===Planning and pre-arrival documentation===<br />
<br />
====Visa-free entry====<br />
<br />
[[Image:Welcome to the US.jpg|thumb|250px|Welcome!]]<br />
Citizens of the 37 countries within the Visa Waiver Program [http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html], as well as Canadians, Mexicans living on the border (holding a Border Crossing Card), and Bermudians (with British Overseas Territories passports) do not require advance visas for entry into the United States.<br />
<br />
'''For Canadians and Bermudians''', the entry period is normally for a maximum of '''six months'''. However, entry may still be refused on the basis of a criminal record. Those who have criminal records should seek out a U.S. embassy for advice on whether they need a visa.<br />
<br />
For travelers under the '''visa waiver program''', but the entry period is limited to '''90 days''' (see additional requirements below).<br />
<br />
As of October 2012, '''the countries under the Visa Waiver Program are''' [[Andorra]], [[Austria]], [[Australia]], [[Belgium]], [[Brunei]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Denmark]], [[Estonia]], [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Greece]], [[Hungary]], [[Iceland]], [[Ireland]], [[Italy]], [[Japan]], [[South Korea]], [[Latvia]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Lithuania]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Malta]], [[Monaco]], [[the Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], [[Norway]], [[Portugal]], [[San Marino]], [[Singapore]], [[Slovakia]], [[Slovenia]], [[Spain]], [[Sweden]], [[Switzerland]], [[Taiwan]] and the [[United Kingdom]]. <br />
<br />
Citizens of the [[Federated States of Micronesia]], the [[Marshall Islands]], and [[Palau]] may enter, reside, study, and work in the U.S. indefinitely with only a valid passport.<br />
<br />
Citizens of the [[Bahamas]] may apply for visa-free entry ''only'' at the U.S. Customs pre-clearance facilities in the Bahamas, but a valid police certificate may be required for those over the age of 14. Attempting to enter through any other port of entry requires a valid visa.<br />
<br />
Persons holding a passport from the [[Cayman Islands]], if they intend to travel directly to the U.S. from there, may obtain a single-entry visa waiver for about $25 prior to departure.<br />
<br />
====Visa Waiver Program requirements====<br />
<br />
Travel under the Visa Waiver Program is limited to tourism or business purposes only; neither employment nor journalism is permitted with a Visa Waiver. ''The 90-day limit may not be extended nor will travel to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean reset the 90-day limit''. Take care if transiting through the U.S. on a trip exceeding 90 days to Canada and/or Mexico.<br />
<br />
Travelers entering the U.S. through the '''Visa Waiver''' program '''must''' apply for '''Electronic System for Travel Authorization''' (ESTA) approval online [https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/] before their flights, preferably 72 hours before travel. An ESTA approval is valid for two years (unless your passport expires earlier) and '''costs $14''' [http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/national/08062010_2.xml]. Approvals issued before 8 September 2010 (i.e. those which were free at the time) remain valid until their expiry date.<br />
<br />
Passports issued after 26 October 2005 need digital photographs embedded on them, and passports issued after 26 October 2006 must be '''biometric passports''', which have a chip embedded with the user's information. Some countries, e.g. France, did not have biometric passports available at that date, meaning that citizens from these countries with newer passports but not biometric passports have to obtain a tourist visa, which can be a cumbersome, costly and time-consuming process. If you have a non e-passport issued after 26 October 2006 and you are from a Visa Waiver country, try having your government exchange it for an biometric passport, explaining that you wish to travel to the U.S.<br />
<br />
Entry under the Visa Waiver program by air or sea requires that you are using a signatory carrier. It is a fairly safe assumption that commercial scheduled services to the U.S. will be fine, however if you are on a chartered flight or vessel you should check the status of the carrier, as you may require a visa.<br />
<br />
Travelers entering by air or sea must also have a return/onward ticket out of the United States. If the return/onward ticket terminates in Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, or any Caribbean island, the traveler must be a legal resident of that country/territory. If traveling by land, there is a $7 fee when crossing the border. Before VWP travelers commence their journeys, they must apply electronically for authorization to travel (ESTA) through the ESTA website [http://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/]. If approved, it allows the traveler to commence his journey to the U.S. but (as with any visa or entry permit) it does not guarantee entry.<br />
<br />
A criminal record will generally make a potential traveler ineligible for visa-free travel with the following exceptions: <br />
*Traffic violations<br />
*Civil infractions (such as littering, noise violations, disorderly conduct)<br />
*Purely political offenses (e.g. non-violent protest in countries where it is not allowed)<br />
*Offenses committed before the age of 16. <br />
The ESTA application contains a questionnaire, which if answered truthfully will direct you to apply to a visa if you are ineligible for the Visa Waiver Program for reasons of criminal history, etc. If you have any concerns, complete the ESTA application well in advance of your departure to allow time to apply for a visa if directed to do so.<br />
<br />
There are disadvantages and restrictions to entering under the visa-waiver program. Under normal circumstances, these include the following:<br />
*you can't apply to extend your authorised stay<br />
*you can't apply to change your status from visitor to another <br />
*in case of denial of entry into the US, the decision can't be appealed and you will immediately be placed on the first flight out of the US<br />
<br />
====Obtaining a visa====<br />
{{infobox|Common US Visa/Residence Statuses|*'''B1''': Business visitor<br />
*'''B2''': Tourist (&quot;visitor for pleasure&quot;)<br />
*'''C1''': Transit<br />
*'''F1''': Student<br />
*'''H''': Employment<br />
*'''I''': Journalism/Media<br />
*'''J1''': Exchange program<br />
*'''WB''': Visa Waiver Program, Business; not extendable past 90 days<br />
*'''WT''': Visa Waiver Program, Tourist; not extendable past 90 days}}<br />
For the rest of the world, the visa application fee is a non-refundable '''$160''' (as of April 2012) for visas that are not issued on the basis of a petition and $190 for those that are; this fee is waived under very limited circumstances, namely for people requesting certain exchange visitor visas. <br />
<br />
Depending on your nationality and the category of visa you are requesting, you may need to pay an additional fee (ranging from $7-200) only if the visa is issued. This is called a reciprocity fee and is charged by the U.S. to match the fees charged by other countries on U.S. citizens.<br />
<br />
The Immigration and Nationality Act states that all persons requesting entry into the United States as non-immigrants are presumed to be immigrants until they overcome that presumption by showing evidence of &quot;binding ties&quot; to their home country as well as sufficient proof that the visit will be temporary. When the U.S. rejects a visa application, it is usually because the applicant does not have enough binding ties to his own country to convince the consular officer that the person will not try to overstay. Applicants need to demonstrate that they are indeed genuinely entitled to the visa they are applying for. Face-to-face interviews (where the official needs to be convinced that you are not a &quot;potential immigrant&quot;) at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate are required for almost all nationalities, and waits for interview slots and visa processing can add up to several months. <br />
<br />
Keep in mind that the embassy is closed on both U.S. holidays and holidays of your home country so you need to know both holidays when setting dates to apply for a visa. In addition, travelers should start planning their trips far in advance, as the application process is known to take up to 6 months.<br />
<br />
''Do not assume anything''. Check on documentation requirements with the United States State Department [http://travel.state.gov/] or with the United States consulate nearest you. If coming to the country with a car, be sure to have documents showing car insurance, rental agreements, driver's license, etc., before trying to enter the U.S.<br />
<br />
For '''technical and scientific fields''' of work or study, processing non-immigrant visa application can take up to 70 days, as it can require 8 weeks for receiving an approval from authorities in Washington. This especially applies to military and dual-purpose fields which are mentioned in a so-called technical alert list.[http://www.bu.edu/isso/forms/tal.pdf]<br />
<br />
A visa is not a guarantee of entry into the US: it only allows you to proceed to a port of entry and request admission. Your visa is generally not tied to your permitted length of stay; for example, a 10-year visa does not allow a stay of 10 years. On the other hand, you can enter the US on the last day of validity of your visa and still be allowed to stay, for example, up to 180 days as a tourist. <br />
<br />
Please bear in mind that applying for the incorrect/inappropriate visa for your purpose of travel will lead to serious problems, not to mention a possible perpetual bar from getting any US visa (especially if you attempt to fraudulently obtain the visa). As such, please consult a US immigration attorney especially if you want to apply for visas that require you to stay longer or do something other than business or tourism. This includes performing in concerts or competitions as well as field reporting for your media organisation back home. <br />
<br />
[[Image:Statueofliberty.jpg|thumb|250px|Statue of Liberty, [[New York City]] ]]<br />
<br />
====Travel to US possessions====<br />
The territories of [[Guam]], [[Puerto Rico]], the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] all have the same entry requirements as the 50 states. <br />
<br />
However, Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands allow entry, by air only, for an additional group of foreign nationals under the '''Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program''': Brunei, Malaysia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan (only on non-stop flights from Taiwan), &amp; Hong Kong. Citizens of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, &amp; the United Kingdom are also allowed entry under the Guam-CNMI VWP and may enter under it of the federal VWP. Entrance under the Guam-CNMI VWP requires a valid, machine-readable passport, a return airfare, and is limited to a 45 day stay in Guam &amp; the Northern Marianas '''only'''. Residents of Hong Kong must present a valid HK permanent identity card and are allowed entry with either a Hong Kong S.A.R. passport or British National (Overseas) passport. Residents of Taiwan must present a valid R.O.C. National Identification Card in addition to an R.O.C. passport. Citizens of Russia are eligible for parole (essentially the same as visa-free travel) to enter the Northern Marianas Islands only. Because of differences in entry requirements, a full immigration check is done when traveling between Guam and the Northern Marianas as well as on flights to the rest of the US (currently, only Guam-Hawaii flights).<br />
<br />
[[American Samoa]] lies outside the federal immigration jurisdiction and has separate entry requirements, which even apply to US citizens. Entry is allowed for 30 days (extendable to 60 days) for tourism with a valid passport and proof of onward travel or local employment. US citizens and citizens of countries under the federal Visa Waiver Program plus Palau, the Marshall Islands, and F.S. Micronesia are allowed visa-free entry. All other foreign nationals must contact the American Samoa Attorney General's office to obtain a visa at 1-684-633-4163.<br />
<br />
===Arriving in the United States===<br />
<br />
Before arrival, if you are not a Canadian or Bermudian, you will receive either a white I-94 (if entering with a visa) or green I-94W (if entering on a visa waiver) form to complete. Most persons arriving in the United States under the Visa Waiver Program are no longer issued with I-94W cards, however, as the qualifying paperwork was filled out with the ESTA application.<br />
<br />
If you are not a citizen or resident of the United States, you will go through a short interview at immigration, where the official will try to determine if the purpose of your visit is valid. Just like when obtaining the visa, of most concern to immigration officials is to determine that you have the funds to support yourself and that you do not intend to work or perform any activity not authorized by the your visa. Be prepared to show proof. If you are on a business visit, have an invitation letter from the company you are visiting, or the registration details of the conference you are attending. If you are a tourist, you may need to demonstrate you have funds available to you. In both cases proof of onward travel may be required. Usually, the determination of admissibility is made in a minute or less, but you may be referred to further questioning in a more private area. At this stage they will likely search your possessions, and may read any documentation, letters or diaries in your possession. Do not bring anything that will imply you will immigrate (employment documents, photographs typically kept at home, excessive luggage, pets). If you are unable to prove or convince the officers that you will potentially abide by the terms of your visa (or visa waiver program if applicable), it can be cancelled on the spot, and you will be refused entry and sent on the next flight home.<br />
<br />
Once they decide to let you in, you are '''fingerprinted''' and a '''digital photograph''' is taken. These are additional security measures dubbed '''US-VISIT''' [http://www.dhs.gov/us-visit] that is currently applicable to all non-resident aliens, at a majority of land, sea, and air entry ports.<br />
<br />
As in most countries, customs officials are humorless about any kind of security threat; even the most flippant joke implying that you pose a threat can result in lengthy interrogation, at best.<br />
<br />
For non-residents, your entry forms will need to state the '''street address''' of the location where you will be staying for the first night; this should be arranged in advance. The name of your hotel, hostel, university, etc. is not sufficient; you must provide the street name and number. If it is a hotel, have a reservation under your name. If it is a private address, make sure that the people there know that they are expecting you that day, as officials may phone them and ask them for the name of the guest they are expecting. Make sure you have their contact details (especially phone numbers where they can be reached immediately), and save any text messages or e-mails in which your hosts mention inviting you to stay at their residence. <br />
<br />
Once you are admitted, the departure portion of your I-94 or I-94W will be stapled to your passport. '''Keep it safe''' as you will need to give it to airline staff upon departure from the US and, if you fail to turn it in, you run the risk of being thought to have overstayed.<br />
<br />
==== At customs ====<br />
A customs form is handed out to all travelers; however, only one form per family is required to be filled out. Normally, the head of the family is responsible for ensuring the declaration is accurate. If you are traveling by air to the U.S., many airports will provide two lanes: for those who have something to declare and those who have nothing to declare. Regardless of the lane you choose, customs officers still have the right to search your bags. After you are admitted into the U.S. and you retrieve your bags, you will proceed to the secondary inspection area (customs checkpoint). Hand your customs declaration to the officer. Most of the time, the officer will point you to the exit and that will be it.<br />
<br />
The officer may ask you some routine questions and then let you go. The officer may refer you to the X-ray to have your bags inspected or may refer you for a manual search of your bags. Customs has the right to search your person and your bags, but any search more intrusive than a bag search is rare and is usually indicated only if some sort of probable cause has been established through questioning or during the bag search to suggest suspicious activity. Random searches of luggage, either by X-ray or manually, can occur. <br />
<br />
You can't bring meat or raw fruit or vegetables but you may bring cooked non-meats, such as bread. See APHIS [http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/clearing_goods/agri_prod_inus.xml] for details. The U.S. Customs process is straightforward. Most articles that are prohibited or restricted in any other country are prohibited or restricted in the U.S. The only rule that is unique to America is that it is generally prohibited to bring in goods made in countries on which the U.S. has imposed economic sanctions: Cuba, [[Iran]], [[North Korea]] (DPRK), [[Syria]], and [[Myanmar]] (Burma).<br />
<br />
Besides your personal effects, which will go home with you, you are allowed to import $200 of merchandise duty free, including 1 liter of alcohol (for those 21 and older only) and 1 carton of cigarettes. If you are bringing in more than $10,000 cash or its equivalent, you must declare it on your customs form and you will be given a special form to fill out; not declaring exposes you to a fine and possible seizure of that cash.<br />
<br />
The US possessions of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands, &amp; US Virgin Islands are outside the federal customs jurisdiction and each have their own separate requirements. Travel between these regions and the rest of the US requires a customs check. There are some differences (mostly larger) in duty exemptions for US citizens returning from these destinations. <br />
<br />
====After customs====<br />
<br />
All inbound citizens, nationals, and visitors must pass through immigration and customs at their first point of entry, regardless of whether they have connections to other destinations inside the U.S. Nearly all major hubs have special arrangements for travelers with connecting flights, such as a conveyor belt just the other side of customs where you can place your baggage that has been already been tagged with your final destination. (Some hubs like JFK have now switched to a more inconvenient system, where you must show your ID and boarding pass at a &quot;Connecting Flights&quot; check-in counter.) <br />
<br />
Since you have had access to your checked bags while going through customs, you will always need to re-clear security if proceeding on to a connecting flight. Some airports (such as Philadelphia) have a bag drop belt right outside customs and a dedicated security line for passengers connecting from international flights. At others (such as Boston where domestic carriers all depart from terminals other than the one used for international arrivals), you will have to exit the terminal you are in and proceed to the terminal of your departing flight, drop your bags at your airline's counter and then proceed through security.<br />
<br />
Note that the bag drop procedures above work only if you have requested the staff at your port of departure to check your baggage through to your final destination (as opposed to your first U.S. port of entry). If this is not possible or there are no check-through agreements between the airline that took you to your port of entry and the next airline, you will have to proceed to the terminal of your next flight and check in as usual.<br />
<br />
==== Leaving the United States (and Re-entering from Canada or Mexico) ====<br />
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{{cautionbox|boldtext=Thinking of Overstaying or Doing Something Else?| Make sure you leave before the authorised period of stay indicated in your I-94 form expires. If you overstay the period granted at passport control or violate your terms of entry (e.g. work as a visitor), this '''will automatically invalidate your visa''' and no longer be in a valid immigration status. In addition, overstaying your authorized stay or violating the conditions will make it extremely difficult to re-enter the United States for any purpose, and this may, in some cases, bar you from re-entry for at least three years, if not permanently. If you entered under the Visa Waiver Program but overstayed, you will '''need a visa''' for '''all''' future visits.}}<br />
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Unlike most countries, the U.S. has no formal passport control checkpoint for those exiting the country, especially for those traveling by air or sea. As such, if you are leaving the US for the last time on a particular trip (i.e. not returning from Canada or Mexico), it is ultimately your responsibility to turnover the departure record of your I-94 or I-94(W) to the airline or ship staff at check-in, or the Canadian or Mexican border officer if leaving by land. If you leave the country with it, still in your possession, contact U.S. officials about how to return it and update your departure records to avoid entry hassles in the future. If you leave by a commercial carrier, your departure will also be verified with the airline or shipping company. Hence it (at least theoretically) means no further action is needed from you; nonetheless bring whatever documents to prove you were outside the US before time was up the next time you visit. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has information [http://help.cbp.gov/cgi-bin/customs.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=752] about what to do if your slip is not collected.<br />
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If you intend to leave for Canada or Mexico by land for a side trip and return to the U.S. within 30 days or the allowed time of your stay (whichever is shorter), you may re-enter the US provided that you do '''not yet''' return the I-94 or I-94 card before you proceed to Canada or Mexico. This can also be done even if you originally entered the US on a single-entry visa. However, you will only be admitted for the remainder of your original allowed time; the deadline to ultimately leave the US won't be extended by just leaving the US for somewhere else in North America. If you return the I-94 while on the side trip, you will have to apply all over again to enter the U.S. (which means a new visa for single-entry visa holders) and be subject to the usual questioning that alien go through to lack of any intentions of immigrating, working, or doing something else not authorized by the visa.<br />
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That said, avoid re-entering the US a few days, weeks or months after one visit. Even if you don't technically overstay, planning several US visits spaced shortly after each other may be interpreted by immigration officers as having &quot;immigrant intent&quot; and hence your visa could be subject to cancellation the next time you apply for entry. <br />
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There are additional pilot security measures dubbed '''US-VISIT''' [http://www.dhs.gov/us-visit] that will eventually require non-resident aliens to be fingerprinted and photographed upon their exit. This is applicable at a majority of land, sea, and air entry ports.<br />
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===By plane===<br />
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[[Image:Space Needle Mount Ranier Seattle Washington USA.jpg|thumb|250px| [[Seattle]] skyline, [[Washington_(state)|Washington]] state, [[Pacific Northwest]] ]]<br />
Most visitors from outside Canada and Mexico arrive in the United States by plane. While many medium sized inland cities have an international airport, there are limited flights to most of these and most travelers find themselves entering the U.S. at one of the major entry points along the coasts:<br />
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* '''From the east''' New York City, Chicago, [[Philadelphia]], [[Atlanta]], [[Charlotte]], Boston, Washington, D.C., Orlando, and Miami are the primary entry points from [[Europe]] and other transatlantic points of departure. All the major east coast airports have service from a few key European cities. Los Angeles and San Francisco, while not on the east also have a good number of flights from major European cities. <br />
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* '''From the west''' Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu are the primary points of entry from Asia and other transpacific points of departure. Seattle and [[Portland (Oregon)]] have a few international flight options. Of course, if you arrive in Honolulu, you must take another flight to get to the mainland. Foreign airlines are ''not'' allowed to transport passengers to/from Hawaii or Alaska and the other 48 states (except for refueling and in-transit). If you are flying into the West Coast to transit to another destination, San Franscisco airport has a free frequent skytrain linking terminals and short security queues, compared to Los Angeles which will see you exposed to the elements catching a shuttle bus or walking between terminals. Chicago, while not on the west coast, is still a major point of entry from Asia, offering non-stop flights from [[Tokyo]], [[Hong Kong]], [[Shanghai]], [[Beijing]], and [[Seoul]], with direct service from Bangkok and Singapore. Qantas serves Dallas/Fort Worth non stop from Sydney, in addition to their daily service to Los Angeles and San Francisco from Sydney and Melbourne. <br />
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* '''From the north''' Detroit and Minneapolis have a good number of flights from major Asian and Canadian cities. <br />
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* '''From the south''' Miami and Houston are the primary entry points from [[Latin America]], primarily South America. Also, [[Dallas]], [[Atlanta]], and Charlotte are major international waypoints. From Mexico, most major U.S. airports have non-stop service. <br />
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* '''From the other side of the world''' [[New Delhi]], India has non-stop service to [[New York City|New York]] (via JFK and Newark airports) and to Chicago. [[Mumbai]] has non-stop flights to New York (JFK and Newark). From [[Pakistan]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Uzbekistan]] and [[United Arab Emirates]] you can also fly to New York (JFK). [[Qatar]], and [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi Arabian]] fly to Washington, DC, and [[South Africa|South African]] Airways goes to New York (JFK) and Washington, DC (Dulles). Los Angeles and [[Houston]] both offer non-stop service to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.<br />
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Note that the U.S. requires entry formalities even for international transit, and the current state of international affairs means that this is not going to change anytime soon. You must have a valid visa to enter the U.S. if required by your citizenship, ''even if'' you are immediately continuing on a flight to a different country in the same terminal. If your citizenship requires a visa to enter the U.S., [[avoiding a transit of the United States]] is necessary unless you want to spend time and money to obtain a C-1 transit visa. Further, when booking flights to the U.S., note that you will be required to clear customs and immigration at your first U.S. stop, not at your final destination, even if you have an onward flight. Allow at least 3 hours at your first U.S. stop.<br />
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Luggage allowance for flights to or from the U.S. usually operates on a piecewise system in addition to the weight system even for foreign carriers. This means that you are allowed a limited number of bags to check-in where '''each''' bag should not exceed certain linear dimensions (computed by adding the length, width and height of the bags). The exact allowances and restrictions on weight, linear dimension and number of baggage allowed are determined by the carrier you are flying with, your origin (if coming to the US) or destination (if leaving the US) and the class of service you are traveling in.<br />
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====Airport security====<br />
Security procedures for commercial flights departing from anywhere in the U.S. continue to evolve. The '''TSA''' (Transportation Security Administration) now requires all passengers to remove shoes and outerwear and submit personal belongings to X-ray screening. Random passengers may now be selected for additional screening. This may include an &quot;enhanced pat-down,&quot; or you may be required to submit to a full-body X-ray. Do not assume that you are in any sort of trouble or that you are even suspected of causing trouble, simply because you are being subjected to these screenings.<br />
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====Pre-clearance====<br />
Passengers whose journeys originate in major Canadian airports and involve either U.S. or Canadian carriers will have the advantage of clearing U.S. entry formalities (passport control and customs) at their Canadian port-of-exit. As far as most flights from Canada are concerned, they are treated similarly as U.S. domestic flights but only because clearance has been performed at the Canadian airport. Hence once passengers from Canada arrive at their U.S. port-of-entry, rather than walk through a secluded corridor, they can see the display of restaurants and shops at the domestic terminal on their way to baggage claim. It is worth noting that most Canadian carriers are located in U.S. domestic terminals.<br />
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Take note that passengers on U.S.-Canadian flights operated by foreign carriers like Philippine Airlines and Cathay Pacific will still see traditional entry formalities upon arrival at their U.S. port-of-entry; a Canadian transit visa may be required even if passengers are confined to a holding area for the entire transit time. <br />
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Some airports in Canada, including [[Vancouver]] International Airport, Terminal 1 of [[Toronto]]-Pearson Airport, and [[Montréal]]-Trudeau Airport generally do not require passengers in transit from abroad to pass through Canadian Customs and Immigration controls before going through U.S. preclearance formalities. However, even if you pass through these airports, make sure that your papers are in order to allow you to enter Canada: if you cannot travel to the U.S. on the same day you go through preclearance, if you are not cleared for entry to the United States, ''or'' if you and/or your luggage is not checked through by your airline to at least your first destination in the United States, you will need to report to Canada Customs; a Canadian transit or temporary resident visa may be required. <br />
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Preclearance facilities are available at most major Canadian airports (Toronto-Pearson, Montreal-Trudeau, [[Ottawa]] Macdonald-Cartier, Vancouver, [[Calgary]], etc.), Queen Beatrix International Airport in [[Aruba]], [[Grand Bahama]] and Lynden Pindling International Airports in the [[Bahamas]], Bermuda International Airport in [[Bermuda]], and [[Dublin]] and [[Shannon]] International Airports in [[Ireland]].<br />
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Passengers on British Airways flights from [[London]] to New York City transiting via either Dublin or Shannon, Ireland can take advantage of U.S. passport control and customs preclearance at Dublin or Shannon. Upon arrival at the U.S., they will arrive as if they were domestic passengers.<br />
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===By car===<br />
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{{VisaRestriction|As of June 2009, all persons wishing to enter the United States by land '''must possess a valid passport'''; NEXUS, FAST, or passport card; Laser Visa; or an &quot;enhanced driver's license&quot; (issued by certain U.S. states and Canadian provinces)}}<br />
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Traffic travels on the right hand side (as it does in Canada and Mexico), '''except''' in the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], due to left-hand driving being common in the smaller Caribbean islands. <br />
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If you are entering under the Visa Waiver Program, you will need to pay a $6 fee, in cash, at the point of entry. No fee is payable if you are simply re-entering and already have the Visa Waiver slip in your passport.<br />
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The U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders are two of the most frequently crossed borders with millions of crossings daily. Average wait times are up to 30 minutes, but some of the most heavily traveled border crossings may have considerable delays—approaching 1-2 hours at peak times (weekends, holidays). Current wait times (updated hourly) are available on the U.S. customs service website [http://apps.cbp.gov/bwt/]. The U.S.-Mexico border is lucrative for drug trafficking, so vehicles crossing may be X-rayed or searched by a drug-sniffing dog. If there is suspicion, your vehicle may be searched. Since this is an all-too-common event, expect no patience from border agents.<br />
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As Canada and Mexico use the metric units of measure but the U.S. uses customary units, bear in mind that after the border, road signs are published in miles and miles per hour. Therefore, if you are driving a car from Canada or Mexico, be mindful that a speed limit of 55 mph in the U.S. is 88 km/h.<br />
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===By bus===<br />
Greyhound offers substantial inexpensive cross-border service from both Canada and Mexico throughout their network. Some routes, such as Toronto to Buffalo have hourly service. Megabus U.S. also runs multiple daily trips from Toronto (also a hub for Megabus Canada) to New York City via [[Buffalo]] for as low as $1.<br />
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Be warned that bus passengers often experience greater scrutiny from U.S. customs officials than car or train passengers.<br />
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===By boat===<br />
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Entering the U.S. by sea, other than on a registered cruise ship, may be difficult. The most common entry points for private boats are [[Los Angeles]] and the surrounding area, [[Florida]], and the Eastern coastal states.<br />
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Some passenger ferries exist between Canada and the U.S., mostly between [[British Columbia]] and [[Washington State]] or Alaska.<br />
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Cunard offers transatlantic ship travel between the United Kingdom and New York City.<br />
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===By train===<br />
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Amtrak offers international service from the Canadian cities of Vancouver (Amtrak Cascades has two 2 trips per day to Seattle), [[Toronto]] (Maple Leaf has a daily trip to New York City), and [[Montreal]] (Adirondack has a daily trip to New York City) into the U.S. Note that crossborder rail service is more expensive and less quick than the buses, which are more frequent and serve a larger range of U.S. destinations from both Canada and Mexico.<br />
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On international trains from Montreal and Toronto, immigration formalities are conducted at the border.<br />
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Those traveling from from Vancouver clear U.S. immigration and customs at the Union Pacific Station before they get on the train itself. '''Be sure to allow enough time before departure to complete the necessary inspections.'''<br />
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===By foot===<br />
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There are many border crossings in urban areas which can be crossed by pedestrians. Crossings such as those in or near [[Niagara Falls (New York)|Niagara Falls]], [[Detroit]], [[Tijuana]], [[Nogales (Arizona)|Nogales]], and [[El Paso]] are popular for persons wishing to spend a day on the other side of the border. In some cases, this may be ideal for day-trippers, as crossing by car can be a much longer wait.<br />
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==Get around==<br />
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[[Image:Us-ca-sanfran-goldengate.jpg|thumb|250px|The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California ]]<br />
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The size of the U.S. and the distance separating major cities make air the dominant mode of travel for short-term travelers. If you have time, travel by car, bus, or [[Amtrak|rail]] can be interesting.<br />
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===By plane===<br />
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The quickest and often the most convenient way of long-distance intercity travel in the U.S. is by plane. Coast-to-coast travel takes about 6 hours from east to west, and 5 hours from west to east (varying due to winds), compared to the days necessary for land transportation. Most cities in the U.S. are served by one or two airports; many small towns also have some passenger air service, although you may need to detour through a major hub airport to get there. Depending on where you are starting, it may be cheaper to drive to a nearby large city and fly or, conversely, to fly to a large city near your destination and rent a car.<br />
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Major carriers compete for business on major routes, and travelers willing to book two or more weeks in advance can get bargains. However most smaller destinations are served by only one or two regional carriers, and prices there can be expensive.<br />
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====Service types====<br />
There are several types of airlines flying in the United States today:<br />
*'''Mainline''' or '''legacy carriers''' - Due to bankruptcies and acquisitions, there are only four major and two minor legacy carriers left: Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, and US Airways, plus Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. These carriers used to be full service, although are increasingly taking after carriers like Ryanair and becoming &quot;no-frills&quot;. On a domestic flight in economy class, expect to pay extra for anything beyond a seat, 1 or 2 carry-on bags, and soft drinks. Some flights to/from Hawaii or Alaska still offer a few perks, but check for your particular airline and flight. <br />
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::Mainline carriers also offer '''first class''' for a larger seat, free food and drinks and overall better service. Round trip fares can run over a thousand dollars, even for short flights, making the added cost not worth it for the vast majority of travelers. (Most travelers in first class get their seat as a complimentary frequent flier upgrade or similar perk.) You may also be offered an upgrade at a much lower cost during check in or at the airport if there are open seats available.<br />
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::A notable exception are certain premium transcontinental services between New York City and Los Angeles/ San Francisco offered by American (&quot;''Flagship Service''&quot;) and United (&quot;''United p.s.''&quot;), where First (as well as Business Class) is comparable to equivalent international offerings with gourmet meals and lie-flat seats. Additionally, flights between the East Coast and Hawaii typically feature an international business class like product.<br />
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*Regional airlines come in three varieties. <br />
:*'''Regional subsidiaries''' operate under an umbrella such as &quot;American Eagle&quot; or &quot;United Express&quot; and run small regional jets or turboprops to locales where it is not economically or technically feasible to run a full sized jet. These flights are booked through their parent (e.g. Delta Connection through Delta), either by themselves or connecting to a mainline itinerary. On-board service is very basic.<br />
:*There are also '''Independent regional airlines''' which are not affiliated with a mainline carrier, these are usually found in more out of the way places, as well as near island communities (Cape Cod, Hawaii, Virgin Islands, etc...)<br />
:*'''Commuter airlines''' primarily serve the business travel market, with 10-30 seat turboprop planes. If you can work with their schedules and choice of airports (usually private aviation airports and municipal airfields) - their consistent fares can be a bargain compared even to low cost carriers. Additionally, since fares are the same whether you buy a month in advance or the day of, tickets are also flexible with no cancellation or change fees.<br />
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*'''Low-cost carriers''' have grown over the past decade. The most famous of these is ubiquitous '''Southwest Airlines''', favorite of leisure and business travelers alike, with '''Frontier''', '''Spirit''', and others becoming formidable competitors. Amenities vary greatly by carrier. On one end, Southwest is the only airline in the United States that lets passengers check two bags free of charge, and have done away with some of the formality of air travel - with no travel agents (all reservations are through their website or call center), assigned seating or buy-on-board programs (free soft drinks and snacks for all passengers.) At the other side of the Spectrum, Spirit Airlines sells seats as low as $9, but charges for everything beyond the seat: checked &lt;u&gt;and&lt;/u&gt; hand luggage, advance seat assignments, checking in at the airport, on board refreshments, etc....<br />
::Southwest, Frontier and Spirit serve destinations nationwide, although they sometimes use smaller or alternative airports such as Chicago Midway instead of the larger O'Hare International Airport.<br />
::Other low cost carriers such as Allegiant and Sun Country focus on &quot;vacation destinations&quot; (Florida, Mexico, the Virgin Islands, etc...)<br />
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*'''Hybrid carriers''' offer more amenities than low cost airlines but with fares lower than the legacies. The most famous of these is '''JetBlue Airways''' which has an extensive network covering primarily major airports, one free checked bag, 34 inches between seats (very generous for an American airline) and free satellite TV in every seat. A relative newcomer is the trendy brainchild of Sir Richard Branson: '''Virgin America''' which also offers a low-priced (comparatively anyway) First Class option.<br />
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====Fees====<br />
Fortunately, most of the prices that you immediately see when searching for flights already include taxes and other mandatory fees applicable to all passengers. This is true whether you directly check the carrier's website or a consolidator (e.g. Travelocity). Unlike carriers in other foreign countries, those in the US do not explicitly have a fuel surcharge. However, carriers charge for extra services, especially mainline/legacy ones. Here is a run down of services that may incur additional fees, as well as strategies for avoiding them if they aren't a service you need or want. Even baggage fees can be avoided with careful planning: <br />
*'''Checking in with an agent''': A few airlines are charging an additional fee ($3-10) for checking in with an actual human being, and Spirit Airlines also charges you for using the airport kiosk instead of checking in online. Unless you need to check in with an agent (e.g., if you have specialized equipment that qualifies for a baggage fee waiver) you should check in online and print your boarding pass at home to save time and avoid additional charges. Some airlines will let you use your iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry as a boarding pass, either by showing an e-mail with a barcode to security and the gate agent, or through a specialized app, although many smaller and regional airports do not support mobile boarding passes yet.<br />
*'''Checked baggage''': Though prices vary by airline, you're generally looking at between $25 and $35 to check a single bag, an additional $50 for a second bag, and up to $100 or more for a third bag. Bags that are oversized or overweight will easily double or triple these fees. <br />
**You're allowed to carry on one small suitcase or garment bag and one personal item (like a briefcase, backpack, or purse) free of charge+. If you can get everything in your carry-ons, this is the best way to avoid baggage fees. Due to ongoing security restrictions, liquids, gels, shaving creams, and similar items must be under 3.4oz (100ml) and be presented to security inside a zip-lock bag. Razor blades, electric shavers, scissors, or anything else with a blade or sharp edge can never be placed in your carry-on. <br />
***&lt;small&gt;+ Ultra low cost carrier '''Spirit Airlines''' charges $20-35 per bag for carry-ons, depending on whether you're a member of their fare club and whether you pay online or at the airport, in many cases it's actually cheaper to check these bags instead of carrying on. As of 2011, no other airline charges for carry-on bagage.&lt;/small&gt;<br />
**Members of frequent flier rewards programs who have &quot;elite&quot; status may typically check 1 or more bags free of charge, or may receive other perks such as additional weight allowances. Some airlines have a branded credit card that offers similar perks.<br />
**Pre-paying baggage charges '''online''' may give you a slight discount on some carriers. <br />
**Discount carriers JetBlue and Southwest allow all passengers one and two checked bags free of charge, respectively.<br />
** Due to these fees, another popular alternative is to ship luggage via UPS, FedEx or the U.S. Postal Service, although this does take some extra planning and preparation.<br />
*'''Curbside check in''': $2-$10 on top of any bag or check-in fees, plus a tip is usually expected. <br />
*'''Food''': Most airlines offer some small snacks (e.g., peanuts, potato chips, cookies) free of charge on all flights. On flights longer than 1.5–2 hours, a buy-on-board option may be offered where you can purchase prepackaged sandwiches, snacks, and occasionally hot food at inflated prices. Flights from the east coast to Alaska, Hawaii and US Pacific territories (which can be over 8 hours each way) generally still feature traditional meal service.<br />
**All airlines allow you to bring your own food and non-alcoholic beverages on board. All except the smallest airports have an array of fast food and quick serve options in the terminal — but you can't bring liquids through the security checkpoint (and some airports do not allow food either), so don't purchase anything until after you've cleared security. While airside food outlets will inevitably be more expensive than what's available before security or off-airport, it still costs much less and likely has a larger selection than what's available on board. Some cities, such as [[Philadelphia]], regulate airport food vendors and limit how much air-side restaurants can markup.<br />
*'''Drinks''': Beverage service is one thing the airline industry hasn't done away with, and even the shortest regional jet flights still feature complimentary coffee, tea, water, juice and soda - an exception is ultra low fare carrier Spirit, who charges for anything other than water. If you'd like something stronger, you can pay $5–7 to pick among a decent selection of beer, two or three varieties of wine, and a couple of basic cocktails that can be mixed easily and quickly (e.g. gin and tonic). <br />
*'''In-flight entertainment''': Most U.S. carriers offer entertainment of one kind or another on longer domestic routes. Delta, JetBlue, Virgin America, and some of United's fleet offer free satellite TV in every seat, as well as movies on demand for purchase for $3-8. American has overhead screens showing movies and sitcom episodes on most longer routes, while US Airways and Southwest do not have in flight entertainment of any kind.<br />
*'''In-flight WiFi''': Delta, JetBlue and Southwest offer in-flight WiFi on nearly all their domestic fleets - American, US Airways and United offer it on select flights. Prices range from $5-20, depending on the airline, length of flight, and device (tablets and smartphones get a discount as they use less data) but the internet connection is good for almost the entire flight (at least until told by crew to switch-off your devices). Daily and monthly passes are also available for less than $50/month. Most airlines do not offer power ports in economy, so be sure you're charged up or have extra batteries for your device. Mobile phones are usually permitted to be operated in-flight as long as they have been set to flight mode (which effectively shuts-off the mobile phone signal from your provider) before being airborne. <br />
*'''Pillows and blankets''' are disappearing rapidly. Some airlines don't have them at all; some will charge you for them (but you get to keep after you pay); and one or two offer them for free (but you have to ask for them). Red-eye and long (&gt;5 hour) flights are more likely to have free pillows and blankets. As always, check with your airline, and bring your own from home if you think you'll need them.<br />
*'''Lounge passes''': Each mainline carrier operates a network of lounges, such as Alaska Airline's &quot;Board Rooms&quot; and Delta's &quot;Sky Clubs&quot; - offering a quieter space to relax or work in, business amenities such as free wi-fi, fax services and conference rooms, as well as complimentary finger foods, soft drinks, beer and wine. Frequent flyers buy annual memberships to these lounges, but any passenger can buy a day pass during check in or at the club itself, usually around $50, although sometimes less if you buy online. Only you can decide if the fee is worthwhile, but if you're in the upper elite tiers of an airline alliance (One World Sapphire or Emerald, Star Alliance Gold or SkyTeam Elite Plus) you may have access to these lounges for free with your frequent flyer card. For members in the highest tiers, this privilege may be extended to a travelling companion. Additionally international Business and First Class passengers can also access these lounges for free.<br />
*'''First class upgrades''': Delta, United, and US Airways sell upgrades on a first come-first served basis at check-in if first class has open seats. This is one to actually consider, especially if you're checking bags - &quot;day of&quot; upgrades can sometimes be as low as $50 each way, less than the cost of two bag fees. You'd may be paying less to check your bags and additionally getting priority security screening, boarding and baggage handling, along with a larger seat and free refreshments on board.<br />
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Most mainline carriers feature &quot;cashless cabins&quot; meaning any on-board purchases must be paid with either Visa or Mastercard (Delta also accepts American Express). Regional subsidiaries generally do still accept cash on-board, although flight attendants may not be able break large bills - hence the traditional request &quot;exact change is appreciated.&quot; If you paid in advance for first class, checked baggage, meals, and alcoholic beverages are all included with the price of your ticket, as well as priority access to check-in agents and boarding. <br />
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Ironically, America's discount airlines, such as JetBlue, Southwest, and Virgin America sometimes have more amenities than the legacy carriers, and for many people may be a much better experience. Jet Blue offers over 45 channels of satellite television, non-alcoholic beverages and real snacks for free on every flight; Virgin America also has satellite TV, in addition to on demand dining (even in economy). On Jet Blue your first checked bag is free ($35 for a second bag), and Southwest is the only U.S. carrier to still offer two checked bags per passenger free of charge. Virgin America charges for checked bags, but their fees are considerably lower than the legacies. <br />
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See [[Cheap airline travel in North America]].<br />
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====Security concerns====<br />
Security at U.S. airports is known to be onerous, especially during busy holiday travel periods. Allow plenty of time and pack as lightly as possible. Ensure the amount of liquids you bring does not exceed the prescribed limit and is properly placed in the prescribed containers. Currently those limits are referred to as '311' - 3 ounces or less liquid bottles placed in a single (1) 'Ziplock' bag that is 1 quart or less in size. Please note that you can take as many of the little &quot;travel size&quot; 3-ounce bottles that you cram into that single bag. The little bottles of shampoo and conditioner that they give away at most decent hotels are perfect for this.<br />
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====By private plane====<br />
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The cost of chartering the smallest private jet begins at around $4000 per flight hour, with the cost substantially higher for larger, longer-range aircraft, and cheaper for smaller propeller planes. While private flying is by no means inexpensive, a family of four or more can often fly together at a cost similar to or even favorable to buying first class commercial airline tickets, especially to smaller airports where scheduled commercial flights are at their most expensive, and private flying is at its cheapest. Though you may find it cheaper than flying a family of four first class internationally, it is rarely the case, except when traveling from Western Europe.<br />
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'''Air Charter''' refers to hiring a private plane for a one time journey. '''Jet Cards''' are pre-paid cards entitling the owner to a specific number of flight hours on a specified aircraft. As all expenses are pre-paid on the card, you need not to concern yourself with deadhead time, return flights, landing fees, etc.<br />
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===By train===<br />
''See also: [[Rail travel in the United States]]''<br />
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Except for certain densely populated corridors (mostly just the Northeast), passenger trains in the United States can be surprisingly scarce and relatively expensive. The national rail system, Amtrak [http://www.amtrak.com/] (1-800-USA-RAIL), provides service to many cities, offering exceptional sightseeing opportunities, but not particularly efficient inter-city travel, and is often just as expensive as a flight. In more urban locations, Amtrak can be very efficient and comfortable, but in rural areas delays are common. Plan ahead to ensure train travel between your destinations is available and/or convenient. They have promotional discounts of 15% for students and seniors, and a 30-day U.S. Rail Pass for international travelers only. If you plan to buy a regular ticket within a week of traveling, it pays to check the website for sometimes significant &quot;weekly specials&quot;. <br />
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Amtrak offers many amenities and services that are lacking from other modes of transport. Amtrak offers many routes that traverse some of America's most beautiful areas. Travelers with limited time may not find travel by train to be convenient, simply because the country is ''big'', and the &quot;bigness&quot; is particularly evident in many of the scenic areas. For those with ample time, though, train travel offers an unparalleled view of the U.S., without the trouble and long-term discomfort of a rental (hire) car or the hassle of flying.<br />
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Trains running on the Washington D.C. to Boston '''Northeast Corridor''' (Acela Express and the Regional) and the Philadelphia to Harrisburg '''Keystone Corridor''' (Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian) generally run on time or very close to it. These two rail lines are electrified and owned by Amtrak or other commuter railways and are passenger only. Outside these two areas, Amtrak operates on freight lines and as a result must share track with host railroad; this means you have about as good a chance of a delay as not. While these delays are usually brief (trains make up time enroute), '''have a contingency plan for being at least three hours late when traveling Amtrak'''. In fact, six hour or longer delays, especially on long-distance routes, are not uncommon, either.<br />
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If you miss an Amtrak connection because your first train is late, Amtrak will book you onto the next available train (or in rare cases a bus) to your final destination. If your destination is on the Northeast Corridor, this isn't a big deal (departures are every hour) but in other parts of the country the next train may not be until tomorrow. If your reservations involved sleeper accommodations (Amtrak's First Class on their long-distance overnight trains) on either your late-arriving train or your missed connection, you will get a hotel voucher for the unplanned overnight stay. For coach class passengers in the same situation, you will not get a hotel voucher; your unplanned lodging arrangements and cost will be your responsibility. However, after your travel is completed, Amtrak's Customer Service will commonly offer travel vouchers of $100 or more off future Amtrak travel to inconvenienced passengers. This is true for all classes of service.<br />
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If you plan to board an Amtrak train at a location other than the train's initial place of departure, it's usually a good idea to call ahead before you leave for the station to see if the train is running on time.<br />
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A major Amtrak line in regular daily use by Americans themselves is the Acela Express [http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Route_C&amp;pagename=am%2FLayout&amp;cid=1241245664867] line, running between Boston and Washington, D.C. It stops in New York City, [[New Haven]], Philadelphia and many other cities on the way. This line is electrified, with top speeds of 150 miles per hour (though the average speed is a good deal slower). The Acela Express has first class service, but can be quite expensive. Given the difficulty and expense of getting from the center of some of the major Northeastern cities to their respective airports, trains can sometimes be more convenient than air travel. There are also frequent but slower regional trains covering the same stations along the Northeast Corridor for lower fares.<br />
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During usual American vacation times, some long-distance trains (outside the Northeast) can sell out weeks or even months in advance, so it pays to book early if you plan on using the long-distance trains. Booking early also results in generally lower fares for all trains since they tend to increase as trains become fuller. On the other hand, same-day reservations are usually easy, and depending on the rules of the fare you purchased, you can change travel plans on the day itself without fees.<br />
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One major scenic long-distance train route, the ''California Zephyr'', runs from [[Emeryville]] in the [[Bay Area (California)|Bay Area]] of California to Chicago, via [[Reno]], [[Salt Lake City]] and [[Denver]]. The full trip takes around 60 hours, but has incredible views of the Western deserts, the Rocky Mountains, and the Great Plains, things that you just cannot see if you fly. Many of the sights on this route are simply inaccessible to cars. The trains run only once per day, and they usually sell out well in advance.<br />
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Amtrak's single most popular long-distance train is the Chicago-Seattle/Portland &quot;Empire Builder&quot; train via Milwaukee, [[Twin Cities|St. Paul/Minneapolis]], Fargo, Minot, Glacier National Park, Whitefish, and Spokane. In FY2007, this train alone carried over 503,000 passengers.<br />
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Amtrak also provides reasonably speedy daily round trips between Seattle and Vancouver, Canada and several daily trips between Seattle and [[Eugene]], Oregon on the ''Amtrak Cascades'' line.<br />
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Passengers traveling long distances on Amtrak may reserve a seat in coach (Economy class) or pay extra for an upgrade to a private sleeping compartment (there are no shared rooms), which also includes all meals in the dining car. Amtrak trains in the West feature a lounge car with floor to ceiling windows, which are perfect for sightseeing.<br />
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Separate from Amtrak, many major cities offer very reliable '''commuter trains''' that carry passengers to and from the suburbs or other relatively close-by areas. Since most Americans use a car for suburban travel, some commuter train stations have park and ride facilities where you can park your car for the day to use the commuter train to get to a city's downtown core where it may be more difficult to use a car due to traffic and parking concerns. Parking rates at the commuter train stations vary due (some facilities may be operated by third parties). Some commuter train systems and services though do not operate on weekends and holidays so it's best to check the system's website to plan ahead. Please don't forget to buy tickets '''before''' you board the train as some systems will have a substantial mark-up on the tickets sold on-board while others won't sell tickets on-board and will subject you to a hefty fine instead.<br />
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Bradt's USA by Rail [http://www.usa-by-rail.com] book (ISBN 9781841622552) is a guide to all Amtrak routes, with maps, station details and other practical advice.<br />
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===By Boat===<br />
America has the largest system of '''inland waterways''' of any country in the world. It is entirely possible to navigate around within the United States by boat. Your choices of watercraft range from self-propelled canoes and kayaks to elaborate houseboats and riverboat cruises. <br />
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Rivers and canals were key to developing the country, and traversing by boat gives you a unique perspective on the nation and some one of a kind scenery. Some examples of waterways open to recreational boating and/or scheduled cruises are:<br />
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* '''The Erie Canal System'''[http://www.canals.ny.gov/exvac/index.html] of New York State operates four canal systems consisting of 524 miles of waterway open for recreational and commercial use. The most famous of these canals is the Erie Canal, which starts around Albany and heads west to Buffalo. By navigating up the Hudson River from New York City, it is possible to go all the way to the Great Lakes and beyond via these waterways. Side trips to the Finger Lakes in Western New York or to Lake Champlain and Vermont are possible. Small watercraft, including canoes and kayaks, are welcome on these canals. <br />
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* '''The St. Lawrence Seaway'''[http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/recreational/index.html] is now the primary port of entry for large ships into North America. Recreational boaters are welcome, however, the Seaway is designed for very large craft and a minimum boat length of 6 meters applies. The Seaway starts in eastern Canada and goes to the Great Lakes.<br />
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* '''The Mississippi River''' There are two channels of navigation from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi. The Mississippi affords north-south access through the interior of the U.S. to the Gulf of Mexico and connects with all major interior waterways, including the '''Missouri River'''. <br />
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Each year, many first time and beginning boaters successfully navigate these waterways. Do remember that any kind of boating requires some preparation and planning. In general, the Coast Guard, Canal and Seaway authorities go out of their way to help recreational boaters. They will also at times give instructions which you are expected to immediately obey. For example, small craft may be asked to give way to larger craft on canals, and weather conditions may require you to stop or change your route.<br />
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===By car===<br />
America's love affair with the automobile is legendary, and most Americans use a car traveling within their city, and when traveling to nearby cities in their state or region. <br />
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Generally speaking, American cities were built for the automobile, so renting or bringing your own car is usually a very good idea. This applies even to very large cities like Los Angeles, Atlanta and Miami, where public transport is very limited and having a car is the most practical way of getting around. (The exceptions are New York City, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., where having your own car is not only unnecessary, but discouraged.) In most medium-sized American cities, everything is very spread out and public transportation thin. Taxis are often available, but if you're not at the airport, you may have to phone for one and wait a half-hour or so to be picked up, making similar arrangements to return. While most Americans are happy to give driving directions, don't be surprised if many aren't familiar with the local public transport options available.<br />
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Gas stations usually sell regional and national maps. Online maps with directions are available on several websites including MapQuest and Google Maps. Drivers can obtain directions by calling 1-800-Free411, which will provide them via text message. GPS navigation systems can be purchased for around $100, and car rental agencies often rent GPS units for a small additional fee. Many smartphones are now bundled with GPS navigation software that offers turn-by-turn directions. Even states that ban the use of hand-held phones by drivers often allow the use of GPS features, as long as the driver enters no data when in motion (check local laws in the places you will be traveling).<br />
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Unlike the rest of the world, the United States continues to use the imperial system, meaning that road signs are in miles and miles per hour, and fuel is sold in gallons. If driving a car from Canada or Mexico, make sure you know the conversions from metric to imperial units.<br />
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====Great American Road Trip====<br />
A romantic appeal is attached to the idea of '''long-distance car travel'''; many Americans will tell you that you can't see the &quot;real&quot; America except by car. Given the dearth of public transportation in most American cities, the loss of time traveling ''between'' cities by car rather than flying can be made up by the convenience of driving around ''within'' cities once you arrive. In addition, many of the country's major '''natural attractions''', such as the [[Grand Canyon]], are almost impossible to get to without an automobile. If you have the time, a classic American road trip with a rented car (see below) is very easy to achieve. Just keep in mind that because of the distances, this kind of travel can mean many long days behind the wheel, so pay attention to the comfort of the car you use.<br />
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====Interstate System====<br />
[[Image:US_Roadsigns.JPG|thumb|250px|There's always a road going your way]]<br />
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The United States is covered with a convenient system of '''Interstate highways'''. Interstates are always expressways (or &quot;freeways&quot;)—that is, controlled access divided highways with no grade crossings, the equivalent of what Europeans call a &quot;motorway&quot;. These roads connect all of the major population centers, and they make it easy to cover long distances—or get to the other side of a large city—quickly. <br />
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Primary Interstates have one- or two-digit numbers, with odd ones running north-south (e.g. I-5) and even ones running east-west (e.g. I-80). Three-digit interstate numbers designate shorter, secondary routes. An odd first digit signifies a &quot;spur&quot; into or away from a city; an even first digit signifies a &quot;loop&quot; around a large city. The second two digits remain the same as the primary Interstate that travels nearby (e.g., I-495 is a loop that connects to I-95).<br />
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The vast majority of interstates do not charge tolls. However, the Departments of Transportation of Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania operate long-distance, limited-access toll roads called '''Turnpikes'''. Tolls are also frequently levied for crossing notably large bridges or tunnels, and some states are even turning to requiring tolls on Federal Interstate highways to defray their maintenance costs (Virginia is most notable for this). While the majority of entrances and exits for the Turnpike systems of these states collect tolls in cash, states are increasingly turning to electronic tolling by outfitting vehicles with small RFID transponders, or, more recently, photographic recording and recognition of the vehicle's license plate. If you plan on driving in a state that offers toll roads, it is worthwhile to ask your rental car agency about the electronic tolling options available to you, as paying tolls in cash is becoming incrementally more difficult as electronic options and open-road tolling (paying tolls electronically without having to stop), on Florida's Turnpike in particular, are rapidly becoming more widely accepted. Nearly all rental car agencies that operate in Florida offer some form of prepaid tolling plan. Credit cards and travelers' cheques are not accepted by state-operated toll plazas.<br />
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Speed limits on the interstate highways can vary from state to state, and also according to geography (for example, slower on mountain passes and within cities than on long straight rural sections). Posted speed limits can range from as low as 45 miles per hour (70 km/h) in densely urban areas to as much as 85 miles per hour (135 km/h) in rural stretches of Texas, but mostly they'll be between 65 and 75 mph (105–120 km/h). The speed limits (in miles per hour) are always clearly posted on interstates.<br />
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American drivers often drive 5 to 15 miles per hour (8–25 km/h) over the posted speed limit; driving slower than the speed limit can actually be dangerous. A good rule of thumb is to avoid driving much faster than 5 to 10 mph (8–15 km/h) over the speed limit, and be sure that some other cars are always passing you; avoid being the fastest ''or'' the slowest vehicle. If you are pulled over by police for speeding, the excuse &quot;Everyone else is speeding too&quot; will not help. Highway Patrol officers are usually most concerned with the fastest drivers, so ensuring you are slower than the fastest speeders is one way to avoid their attention. If you are pulled over, be respectful, address the officer as &quot;Officer,&quot; and express heartfelt regret at your excessive speed. You will nearly always get a ticket, but it never hurts to express 'regret' as maybe you will get lucky and only receive a warning. <br />
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Many U.S. Interstate Highways, particularly around and through very large cities, will segregate the far left-hand lane or lanes and reserve them for high-occupancy use. These lanes are clearly signed, marked which white diamonds down the center of the lane, have double-white lines on the right, and are limited to vehicles with two or more occupants. High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes, called ''HOV lanes'', are designed to ease congestion on Interstate freeways around large population centers during the very start and very end of the business day, also known colloquially as ''Rush Hour.'' Enforcement of these High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes typically coincide with rush-hour, from 7:00am to 9:00am, and again from 4:00pm to 6:00pm on weekdays. Driving in an HOV lane as the sole occupant of a vehicle during these times is could result in a traffic citation and fine.<br />
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Commercial rest areas were prohibited on the U.S. Interstate Highway system by the Federal government. As a result, the vast majority of stopping points are state-operated rest areas with public toilets, parking, tourist information, vending machines, and a small picnic area. While there are no restaurants, gas stations, or other stores, some rest areas are equipped with vending machines. (A notable exception are tolled, limited-access highways such as Florida's Turnpike, where exiting would force you to pay a toll; service plazas with both food and gas are found on these highways every 20–40 miles [30–60 km] or so.) Commercial traveler services tend to congregate on the local roads just off popular interstate exits, even if the exit is miles from the nearest population center. Sometimes you'll find a '''truck stop''', an establishment that caters to long-haul truckers but is open to all travelers; Truck stops provide several services all in one building, with a &quot;greasy-spoon&quot;-style restaurant, gas station, general store, and even hot showers. Signs on the highway will indicate the services available at upcoming exits, including gas, food, lodging, and camping, so you can choose a stopping point as you're driving.<br />
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====Off the Interstates====<br />
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A secondary system of federal highways is the '''U.S. Highway system'''. U.S. Highways may be freeways on some sections, but they are often surface roads, sometimes with just one lane in each direction. U.S. Highways, which generally predate the Interstate system, tend to be older routes that lead through town centers. In many cases, Interstates were constructed roughly parallel to U.S. Highways to expedite traffic that wishes to bypass the cities and towns. If you don't mind stopping at traffic lights and dealing with pedestrians, U.S. Highways can lead you to some interesting off-the-beaten-path sights.<br />
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Each state is responsible for maintenance of the Interstates and U.S. highways (despite the names), but each one also maintains its own system of '''State Highways''' (or '''State Routes''') that form the bulk of the inter-community road network. State Highways are usually surface roads but may occasionally be freeways; you can generally count on them being well maintained (and plowed in the winter) and that following one will get you to some form of civilization sooner rather than later.<br />
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====Driving laws====<br />
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As with the rest of North America, Americans drive on the right in left-hand drive vehicles and pass on the left. White lines separate traffic moving in the same direction and yellow lines separate opposing traffic. Right turn on red after coming to a complete stop is legal (unless a sign prohibits it) in nearly all states and cities, though New York City is a notable exception. Red lights and stop signs are always enforced at ''all'' hours in nearly all U.S. jurisdictions.<br />
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Most American drivers tend to drive calmly and safely in the sprawling residential suburban neighborhoods where the majority of Americans live. However, freeways around the central areas of big cities often become crowded with a significant proportion of &quot;hurried&quot; drivers — who will exceed speed limits, make unsafe lane changes, or follow other cars at unsafe close distances (known as &quot;tailgating&quot;). Enforcement of posted speed limits is somewhat unpredictable and varies widely from state to state. Not exceeding the pace of other drivers will usually avoid a troublesome citation. Beware of small towns along otherwise high-speed rural roads (and medium-speed suburban roads); the reduced speed limits found while going through such towns are strictly enforced.<br />
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Driving law is primarily a matter of state law and is enforced by state and local police. Fortunately, widespread adoption of provisions of the Uniform Vehicle Code, and federal regulation of traffic signs under the Highway Safety Act, means that most driving laws do not vary much from one state to the next. All states publish an official driver's handbook which summarizes state driving laws in plain English. These handbooks are usually available both on the Web and at many government offices. <br />
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AAA publishes a AAA/CAA Digest of Motor Laws, which is now available online for free at: http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/. The Digest contains comprehensive summaries in plain English of all major driving laws that typically vary between states. The Digest's coverage includes all U.S states and all Canadian provinces.<br />
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International visitors age 18 and older can usually drive on their foreign driver's license for up to a year, depending on state law. Licenses that are not in English must be accompanied by an International Driving Permit (IDP) or a certified translation. Persons who will be in the United States for more than a year must obtain a driver's license from the state they are residing in. Written and practical driving tests are required, but they are usually waived for holders of valid Canadian, Mexican, and some European licenses.<br />
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Traffic signs often depend on the ability to read English words. Drivers who can read English will find most signs self-explanatory. (Progress toward adopting signs with internationally understood symbols is extremely slow; don't count on seeing any.) Distances and speeds will almost always be given in miles and miles per hour (MPH), without these units specified. Some areas near the Canadian and Mexican borders may feature road signs with distances in both miles and kilometers.<br />
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Police patrol cars vary in make, model, color, and livery from state to state and even town to town, but all are equipped with red and blue flashing lights and a siren. If you see the lights or hear the siren, pull to the right-hand shoulder of the road to let them by. If the patrol car is directly behind you, it's your car the officer is targeting; in that case, pull over as soon as it is practical for you to do so safely, even if this means driving some extra distance. It is extremely important that you pull off the road as soon as you are able. The officer will request to see your drivers license, the registration for the vehicle, and your proof of insurance coverage, and/or rental car documentation. Most traffic stops are recorded by a video camera in the trooper's patrol car, as well as a lapel mike on their person. See the section on [[#Police|police officers]] in the Stay Safe section below.<br />
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====Car rental====<br />
Virtually every car from every rental agency in the U.S. runs on unleaded gasoline and has an automatic transmission. Renting a car usually costs anywhere from $20 and $100 per day for a basic sedan, depending on the type of car and location, with some discounts for week-long rentals. The major rental agencies are Alamo [http://www.alamo.com/] (+1 877 222-9075); Avis [http://www.avis.com/] (+1 800 230 4898); Budget [http://www.budget.com/] (+1 800 527 0700); Dollar [http://www.dollar.com/] (+1 800 800 4000); Enterprise Rent-A-Car [http://www.enterprise.com/] (+1 800 RENT-A-CAR); Hertz [http://www.hertz.com/] (+1 800 230 4898); National [http://www.nationalcar.com] (+1 877 222 9058); and Thrifty [http://www.thrifty.com/] (+1 800 847 4389). There are no large national discount car rental agencies but in each city there is usually at least one. A couple discount car rental companies, usually restricted to areas of the country, are Advantage Rent A Car [http://www.advantage.com/] (now owned by Hertz and expanding across the country), E-Z Rent-A-Car [http://www.e-zrentacar.com/] (+1 800 277 5171) and Fox Rent A Car [http://www.foxrentacar.com/]. The Internet or the ''Yellow Pages'' are the easiest ways to find them. One widespread chain is Rent-A-Wreck [http://www.rentawreck.com/] (+1 800 944 7501). It rents used cars at significantly lower prices. Most rental agencies have downtown offices in major cities as well as offices at major airports. Not all companies allow picking up a car in one city and dropping it off in another (the ones that do almost always charge extra for the privilege); check with the rental agency when making your reservations. <br />
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One factor that influences the price of your car rental will be location. Sometimes renting a car at an airport location will cost 3 times as much as renting the same car (from the same company) at a downtown location. In other areas the airport location will be cheaper. On-line travel websites such as Orbitz or Expedia can be useful to compare the best prices and make reservations. <br />
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Rental agencies accept a valid driver's license from your country, which must be presented with an International Drivers Permit if your license needs to be translated. You may wish to join some kind of '''auto club''' before starting a large American road trip, and having a cell phone is a very good idea. Most rental agencies have some kind of emergency road service program, but they can have spotty coverage for remote regions. The largest club in the United States is the American Automobile Association [http://www.aaa.com/] (+1-800-391-4AAA), known as &quot;Triple A&quot;. A yearly membership runs about $60. AAA members also get discounts at many hotels, motels, restaurants and attractions; which may make it worth getting a membership even if you don't drive. Alternatively, Better World Club [http://www.betterworldclub.com/] (+1-866-238-1137) offers similar rates and benefits as AAA with often timelier service and is a more eco-friendly choice (1% of revenue is donated to environmental cleanup programs). Note that some non-U.S. automobile clubs have affiliate relationships with AAA, allowing members of the non-U.S. club to take full advantage of AAA road service and discount programs. Among these clubs are the Canadian Automobile Association, The Automobile Association in the UK, and ADAC in Germany.<br />
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Most Americans renting cars are covered for loss or damage to the rental car either by their credit card or their own private vehicle insurance policy. Without appropriate loss/damage waiver cover, you could be liable for the entire cost of the car should it be written off in an accident. Purchasing loss/damage waiver cover and supplemental liability insurance may add up to $30/day to the price of a rental, in some cases doubling the price of the rental. If you visit the car rental website and identify your country of origin, you may be given a quote which includes the loss/damage waiver and liability insurance for considerably less. Many [[travel insurance]] policies include cover for some rental car damage - check your policy against the rental terms and conditions.<br />
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====Fuel====<br />
Gasoline (&quot;gas&quot;) is sold by the gallon, at stations that are primarily self-service (you must pump your own gas) with the exception of those in New Jersey and Oregon (where self-service is illegal). The American gallon is smaller than the UK gallon, and equals 3.785 liters. The U.S. octane scale is different from that used in Europe; a regular gallon of U.S. gasoline is rated at 87 octane, the equivalent of about 92 in Europe. In most states, gas stations offer a choice of three levels of octane: 87 (regular), 89 (midgrade or plus), and 91 (premium). Unless you are renting a luxury vehicle, your vehicle will likely require only 87 regular. <br />
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Diesel is not as common, but still widely used and available at most stations, especially those catering to truckers. Untaxed &quot;offroad diesel&quot;, sold in rural areas for agricultural use, is dyed red and should not be used in cars, as there are heavy fines if you're caught.<br />
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Despite increasing petroleum prices worldwide and some increases in gas taxes, the American consumer-voter's attachment to his automobile, combined with abundant domestic oil reserves and relatively low taxes on gasoline, has kept retail fuel prices much lower than in many parts of the world. Prices fluctuate by region and season. As of May 2012, current prices are averaging near $3.80/gallon (equivalent to $1.00/liter) for regular and $4.10/gallon for diesel ($1.08/liter). <br />
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Gas prices vary dramatically from state to state based on a number of variables, primarily state sales tax rates (which are invariably included in the advertised price) and anti-pollution requirements. The highest prices are usually found in Hawaii, Alaska, the West Coast, Illinois, and New York. The lowest prices are generally found in the south central U.S.<br />
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===By bus===<br />
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Intercity bus travel in the United States is widespread, and while not available everywhere, there are at least three daily routes in every state. Service between nearby major cities is extremely frequent (e.g. as of July 2012 there are 82 daily buses, by seven operators, on an off-peak weekday each way between Boston-New York, an average of nearly one every 10 minutes during daytime hours). Many patrons use bus travel when other modes aren't readily available, as buses often connect many smaller towns with regional cities. The disadvantaged and elderly may use these bus lines, as automobile travel proves arduous or unaffordable for some. It's commonly considered a &quot;lower class&quot; way to travel, but is generally dependable, safe, affordable.<br />
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Greyhound Bus Lines [http://www.greyhound.com/] (+1 800-229-9424) and several affiliated partners have the predominant share of American bus travel. Steep discounts are available to travelers who purchase their tickets 7-14 days in advance of their travel date. Their North American Discovery Pass allows unlimited travel for ranges of 4 to 60 days, but you might want to try riding one or two buses first before locking yourself in to an exclusively-bus American journey. Greyhound buses typically runs in 5-7 hour segments, at which time all passengers must get off the bus so it can be serviced, even if it's the middle of the night. Continuing passengers are boarded before those just getting on. There are no reservations on Greyhound buses. All seating is on a first come, first served basis, with the exception of select cities, where you can pay a $5 fee for priority seating. Greyhound buses are being refurbished with more comfortable seating, wireless internet, and other improvements.<br />
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Internet based buses are becoming very wide-spread. Megabus [http://us.megabus.com] offers inexpensive daily bus service departing from curbside bus stops across the eastern half of the country: the entire East Coast from Maine to Florida and as far west as Texas and Nebraska (and to Canada) from 9 hub cities. BoltBus [http://www.boltbus.com] competes with Megabus on major routes in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest.<br />
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So called Chinatown buses also provide crub-side departures for a standard walk-up cash fare often much lower than other operators' fares. These lines operate through the East Coast down with some further out destinations in the Midwest and South, along as along the West Coast. GoToBus.com [http://www.gotobus.com] is the largest online booking agent for these buses. Please note that most internet-based and Chinatown buses only go to large cities, skipping the smaller towns that many bus travellers ride to.<br />
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Hispanic bus companies tend to have the most spacious buses in the country. Connections from Texas hubs to the Midwest including Chicago, the Southeast and Mexico are offered Mexican(-American) companies Tornado Bus [http://www.tornadobus.com/], El Expreso [http://www.elexpreso.net/], El Conejo [http://www.autobuseselconejo.com], Omnibus Mexicanos [http://www.omnibusmexicanos.com.mx] and Groupo Senda [http://ticket.gruposenda.com/en/]. Service in and out of Florida is offered by the Chilean JetSet [http://www.jetsetusa.com/eindex.php], Argentinian RedCoach [http://www.redcoachusa.com/], and Cuban-American La Cubana [http://www.lacubanabus.com]. In California and the Southwest operators include FuturaNet [http://futuranet.com/] and Crucero [http://www.crucero-usa.com/], which have tickets starting from $1.<br />
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There are numerous other local operators, many of which are also affliated with Greyhound or Amtrak. The next largest affliation is Trailways [http://www.trailways.com/].<br />
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The Federal Highway Adminstration certifies all bus operators, though they have a hard time keeping wraps on the large amount of services. Curbside bus operators (Chinatown and internet based buses) are more dangerous than others, though still much safer than driving a private vehicle.<br />
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===By recreational vehicle (RV)===<br />
''Main article: [[Car Camping]]''<br />
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Recreational vehicles &amp;ndash; large, sometimes bus sized vehicles that include sleeping and living quarters &amp;ndash; are a distinctly American way to cruise the country. Some RVers love the convenience of being able to drive their home anywhere they like and enjoy the camaraderie that RV campgrounds offer. Other people dislike the hassles and maintenance issues that come with RVing. And don't even think about driving an RV into a huge metropolis such as New York. Still, if you want to drive extensively within the United States and are comfortable handling a big rig, renting an RV is an option you should consider.<br />
<br />
===By motorcycle===<br />
The thrill and exhilaration of cross country travel are magnified when you go by motorcycle. '''Harley-Davidson''' is the preeminent American motorcycle brand and Harley operates a motorcycle rental program [http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Rentals_and_Tours/rent_a_harley.jsp?locale=en_US] for those licensed and capable of handling a full weight motorcycle. In some parts of the country, you can also rent other types of motorcycles, such as sportbikes, touring bikes, and dual-sport bikes. For those inexperienced with motorcycles, Harley and other dealerships offer classes for beginners. Wearing a helmet, although not required in all states, is always a good idea. The practice of riding between lanes of slower cars, also known as &quot;lane-sharing&quot; or &quot;lane-splitting,&quot; is illegal, except in California where it is tolerated and widespread. Solo motorcyclists can legally use &quot;high-occupancy vehicle&quot; or &quot;carpool&quot; lanes during their hours of operation.<br />
<br />
American enthusiasm towards motorcycles has led to a motorcycling subculture. '''Motorcycle clubs''' are exclusive clubs for members dedicated to riding a particular brand of motorcycle within a highly structured club hierarchy. '''Riding clubs''' may or may not be organized around a specific brand of bikes and offer open membership to anyone interested in riding. Motorcycle rallies, such as the famous one in [[Sturgis]], South Dakota, are huge gatherings of motorcyclists from around the country. Many motorcyclists are not affiliated with any club and opt to ride independently or with friends. In general, motorcycling is seen as a hobby, as opposed to a practical means of transportation; this means, for example, that most American motorcyclists prefer not to ride in inclement weather. However you choose to ride, and whatever brand of bike you prefer, motorcycling can be a thrilling way to see the country.<br />
<br />
===By thumb===<br />
[[Image:Gateway Arch St Louis Missouri.jpg|thumb|250px|Gateway Arch, [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]] in the [[Midwest (United States of America)|Midwest]] ]]<br />
<br />
A long history of [[hitchhiking]] comes out of the U.S., with record of automobile hitchhikers as early as 1911. Today, hitchhiking is nowhere near as common, but there are some nevertheless who still attempt short or cross-country trips. The laws related to hitchhiking in the U.S. are most covered by the ''Uniform Vehicle Code'' (UVC), adopted with changes in wording by individual states. In general, it is legal to hitchhike throughout the majority of the country, if not standing within the boundaries of a highway (usually marked by a solid white line at the shoulder of the road) and if not on an Interstate highway prohibiting pedestrians.<br />
<br />
In many states Interstate highways do not allow foot traffic, so hitchhikers must use the entrance ramps. In a few states it is allowed or tolerated (unless on a toll road). Oklahoma, Texas and Oregon are a few states that do allow pedestrians on the highway shoulder, although not in ''some'' metropolitan areas. Oklahoma allows foot traffic on ''all'' free interstates, but ''not'' toll roads and Texas only bans it on toll roads — and on free Interstates within the city of El Paso. Oregon only bans it in the Portland metro area. Missouri only bans it within [[Kansas City]] and [[St. Louis]] city limits.<br />
<br />
Hitchhiking has become much less popular due to increasing wariness of the possible dangers (fueled in part by sensational stories in the news media). International travelers to the U.S. should avoid this practice unless they have either a particularly strong sense of social adventure or extremely little money. Even many Americans themselves would only feel comfortable &quot;thumbing a ride&quot; if they had a good knowledge of the locale.<br />
<br />
'''Craigslist''' [http://craigslist.org] has a rideshare section that sometimes proves useful for arranging rides in advance. If you are open with your destination it's almost always possible to find a ride on C.L. going somewhere within the U.S.<br />
<br />
=== 5-1-1 ===<br />
Some states offer traffic and public transport information by dialling 511 on your phone.<br />
<br />
==Talk==<br />
{{infobox|&quot;Two countries divided by a common language&quot;|<br />
<br />
Speakers of British English will find some terms which differ in American English:<br />
<br />
*ATM - cash point/cash machine<br />
*chips - crisps<br />
*cookies - biscuits<br />
*diaper - nappy<br />
*elevator - lift<br />
*expressway or freeway - motorway<br />
*flashlight - torch<br />
*fries - chips<br />
*gasoline - petrol<br />
*line - queue<br />
*liquor store - off licence/off sales<br />
*movie theatre - cinema<br />
*restroom/bathroom/lavatory - toilet/loo<br />
*round-trip ticket - return ticket<br />
*to-go (in ordering food) - take-away<br />
*truck - lorry<br />
<br />
Please see the article [[American and British English]] for more words that differ across both versions. <br />
<br />
}}<br />
<br />
Most Americans speak '''English'''. They generally use a standard accent (native to the Midwest), popularized in the 20th century by radio, TV and movies. In many areas, especially the South and Texas, in New England, in New York City, and in the upper Midwest, you'll find distinctive regional accents and dialects. Nowhere should this pose any problem to a visitor, as Americans '''often admire foreign accents''' and most will approximate the standard accent to help you understand them, or try to speak your language if they can. <br />
<br />
Even so, visitors are generally '''expected to speak and understand English'''. While many Americans study a foreign language in school (usually [[Spanish phrasebook|Spanish]], [[French phrasebook|French]] or [[German phrasebook|German]]), few achieve or retain fluency into adulthood. The end result is that many Americans know only a few words at best of a foreign language, even if they studied that language in school. A growing number of popular tourist sites have signs in other languages, but only English is certain to be available at any given location.<br />
<br />
Due primarily to immigration from Latin America, the United States has the fifth-largest '''Spanish''' speaking population in the world. Spanish is the primary second language in almost all of United States, especially California, the Southwest, Texas, Florida, and the metropolitan areas of the Midwest and East Coast. Many of these areas have Spanish-language radio and television stations, with local, national and Mexican programs.<br />
<br />
Spanish is the first language of Puerto Rico and a large minority of residents on the mainland, particularly in the western states. Spanish speakers in the United States are primarily Puerto Ricans, or first- and second-generation immigrants from Latin America. As a result, the Spanish spoken is almost invariably a Latin American or Puerto Rican dialect. Although it's rare to be in areas where no one speaks English, a good handle on Spanish can make communication easier in some areas.<br />
<br />
French is the primary second language in rural areas near the border with [[Quebec]], in some areas of Louisiana, and among West African immigrants, but is not widespread elsewhere. In southern Florida, Haitian immigrants primarily speak [[Haitian Creole phrasebook|Haitian Creole]], a separate language derived from French, as their second language, although a substantial number also speak French. <br />
<br />
Thanks to the North American Free Trade Agreement, some products now have trilingual packaging in English, Spanish, and French for sale throughout the entire trade bloc, especially household cleaning products and small electric appliances. However, the vast majority of consumer products are labeled only in English, meaning that a rudimentary grasp of English is essential for shopping. <br />
<br />
[[Hawaiian phrasebook|Hawaiian]] is the native language of [[Hawaii]], although [[Japanese phrasebook|Japanese]] is also widely spoken there. In the various Chinatowns in major cities, [[Cantonese phrasebook|Cantonese]] and [[Chinese phrasebook|Mandarin]] are common. Smaller immigrant groups also sometimes form their own pockets of shared language, including Russian, Italian, Greek, Arabic, Tagalog, Korean, Vietnamese, and others. Chicago, for instance, is the city with the second largest ethnic Polish population in the world, behind [[Warsaw]]. The Amish, who have lived in Pennsylvania and Ohio for generations, speak a dialect of German. <br />
<br />
Some Native Americans speak their respective native languages, especially on reservations in the west. However despite efforts to revive them many Native American languages are endangered, and people who speak them as their first language are few and far between. Navajo speakers in Arizona and New Mexico are an exception to this, but even a clear majority among them speak and understand English too.<br />
<br />
Bottom line: unless you're certain you'll be traveling in an area populated with recent immigrants, don't expect to get by in the United States without some English.<br />
<br />
'''American Sign Language''', or '''ASL''' is the dominant sign language in the United States. When events are interpreted, they will be interpreted in ASL. Users of French Sign Language and other related languages may find ASL intelligible, as they share much vocabulary, but users of British Sign Language or Auslan will not. Closed-captioning on television is widespread, but far from ubiquitous. Many theaters offer FM loops or other assistive listening devices, but captioning and interpreters are rarer.<br />
<br />
For the blind, many signs and displays include '''Braille''' transcriptions of the printed English. Larger restaurant chains, museums, and parks may offer Braille menus and guidebooks, but you'll likely have to ask for them.<br />
<br />
==See==<br />
[[Image:Portland Head Lighthouse Portland Maine USA.jpg|thumb|250px| Portland Head Lighthouse, [[Portland (Maine)|Portland]], Maine, in [[New England]] ]]<br />
<br />
The United States is extraordinarily diverse in its array of attractions. You will never run out of things to see; even if you think you've exhausted what one place has to offer, the next destination is only a road trip away.<br />
<br />
The '''Great American Road Trip''' (see [[#Great American Road Trip|above]]) is the most traditional way to see a variety of sights; just hop in the car and cruise down the Interstates, stopping at the convenient roadside hotels and restaurants as necessary, and stopping at every interesting tourist trap along the way, until you reach your destination.<br />
<br />
Indescribably beautiful scenery, history that reads like a screenplay, entertainment options that can last you for days, and some of the world's greatest architecture&amp;mdash;no matter what your pleasure, you can find it almost anywhere you look in the United States.<br />
<br />
===Natural scenery===<br />
<br />
From the spectacular glaciers of Alaska to the wooded, weathered peaks of Appalachia; from the otherworldly desertscapes of the Southwest to the vast waters of the [[Great Lakes]]; few other countries have as wide a variety of natural scenery as the United States does.<br />
<br />
America's '''National Parks''' are a great place to start. Yellowstone National Park was the first true National Park in the world, and it remains one of the most famous, but there are 57 others. The Grand Canyon is possibly the world's most spectacular gorge; [[Sequoia National Park]] and Yosemite National Park are both home to the world's tallest living organisms; Glacier National Park is a great place to see huge sheets of ice; [[Canyonlands National Park]] could easily be mistaken for Mars; and the [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]] features abundant wildlife among beautifully forested mountains. And the national parks aren't just for sightseeing, either; each has plenty of outdoors activities as well.<br />
<br />
Still, the National Parks are just the beginning. The National Park Service also operates National Monuments, National Memorials, National Historic Sites, National Seashores, National Heritage Areas... the list goes on ([[United States National Parks|and on]]). And each state has its own '''state parks''' that can be just as good as the federal versions. Most all of these destinations, federal or state, have an admission fee, but it all goes toward maintenance and operations of the parks, and the rewards are well worth it.<br />
<br />
Those aren't your only options, though. Many of America's natural treasures can be seen without passing through admission gates. The world-famous [[Niagara Falls (New York)|Niagara Falls]] straddle the border between Canada and the U.S.; the American side lets you get right up next to the onrush and feel the power that has shaped the Niagara gorge. The &quot;purple majesty&quot; of the Rocky Mountains can be seen for hundreds of miles in any direction, while the placid coastal areas of the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic have relaxed Americans for generations. And, although they are very different from each other, Hawaii and Alaska are perhaps the two most scenic states; they don't just ''have'' attractions&amp;mdash;they ''are'' attractions.<br />
<br />
===Historical attractions===<br />
<br />
Americans often have a misconception of their country as having little history. The U.S. does indeed have a tremendous wealth of historical attractions—more than enough to fill months of history-centric touring.<br />
<br />
The '''prehistory''' of the continent can indeed be a little hard to uncover, as most of the Native American tribes did not build permanent settlements. But particularly in the [[Rocky Mountains (United States of America)|West]], you will find magnificent cliff dwellings at sites such as [[Mesa Verde National Park|Mesa Verde]], as well as near-ubiquitous rock paintings. The Museum of the American Indian in [[Washington, D.C./National Mall|Washington, D.C.]] is another great place to start learning about America's culture before the arrival of European colonists.<br />
<br />
As the first part of the country to be colonized by Europeans, the eastern states of New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the South have more than their fair share of sites from '''early American history'''. The first successful British colony on the continent was at [[Colonial Williamsburg|Jamestown]], Virginia, although the settlement at [[Plymouth (Massachusetts)|Plymouth]], Massachusetts, may loom larger in the nation's mind. <br />
<br />
In the eighteenth century, major centers of commerce developed in Philadelphia and Boston, and as the colonies grew in size, wealth, and self-confidence, relations with Great Britain became strained, culminating in the Boston Tea Party and the ensuing '''Revolutionary War'''...<br />
<br />
===Monuments and architecture===<br />
<br />
Americans have never shied away from heroic feats of engineering, and many of them are among the country's biggest tourist attractions.<br />
<br />
'''Washington, D.C.''', as the nation's capital, has more monuments and statuary than you could see in a day, but do be sure to visit the Washington Monument (the world's tallest obelisk), the stately Lincoln Memorial, and the incredibly moving Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The city's architecture is also an attraction&amp;mdash;the Capitol Building and the White House are two of the most iconic buildings in the country and often serve to represent the whole nation to the world.<br />
<br />
Actually, a number of American cities have world-renowned skylines, perhaps none moreso than the concrete canyons of '''Manhattan''', part of New York City. The site of the destroyed World Trade Center towers remains a gaping wound in Manhattan's vista, but the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building still stand tall, as they have for almost a century. '''Chicago''', where the skyscraper was invented, is home to the country's single tallest building, the (former) Sears Tower, and an awful lot of [[Chicago skyline guide|other really tall buildings]]. Other skylines worth seeing include San Francisco (with the Golden Gate Bridge), Seattle (including the Space Needle), Miami, and [[Pittsburgh]].<br />
<br />
Some human constructions transcend skyline, though, and become iconic symbols in their own right. The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the Statue of Liberty in Manhattan, the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, and even the fountains of the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas all draw visitors to their respective cities. Even the incredible [[Mount Rushmore]], located far from any major city, still attracts two million visitors each year.<br />
<br />
===Museums and galleries===<br />
<br />
In the U.S., there's a museum for ''practically everything''. From toys to priceless artifacts, from entertainment legends to dinosaur bones&amp;mdash;nearly every city in the country has a museum worth visiting.<br />
<br />
The highest concentrations of these museums are found in the largest cities, of course, but none compare to Washington, D.C., home to the '''Smithsonian Institution'''. With almost twenty independent museums, most of them located on the '''[[National Mall]]''', the Smithsonian is the foremost curator of American history and achievement. The most popular of the Smithsonian museums are the '''National Air and Space Museum''', the '''National Museum of American History''', and the '''National Museum of Natural History''', but any of the Smithsonian museums would be a great way to spend an afternoon&amp;mdash;and they're all 100% free.<br />
<br />
New York City also has an outstanding array of world-class museums, including the '''Guggenheim Museum''', the '''American Museum of Natural History''',the '''Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)''', the '''Metropolitan Museum of Art''', the '''Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum''', and the '''Ellis Island Immigration Museum'''.<br />
<br />
You could spend weeks exploring the cultural institutions just in D.C. and the Big Apple, but here's a small fraction of the other great museums you'd be missing:<br />
<br />
*Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh &amp;mdash; Pittsburgh<br />
*Children's Museum of Indianapolis &amp;mdash; [[Indianapolis]], Indiana<br />
*Exploratorium &amp;mdash; San Francisco<br />
*Hollywood Walk of Fame &amp;mdash; Los Angeles<br />
*Monterey Bay Aquarium &amp;mdash; [[Monterey (California)|Monterey]], California<br />
*Museum of Science &amp; Industry &amp;mdash; Chicago<br />
*Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame &amp;mdash; [[Springfield (Massachusetts)|Springfield]], Massachusetts<br />
*National Aquarium in Baltimore &amp;mdash; [[Baltimore]], Maryland<br />
*National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum &amp;mdash; [[Cooperstown (New York)|Cooperstown]], New York<br />
*Pro Football Hall of Fame &amp;mdash; [[Canton (Ohio)|Canton]], Ohio<br />
*Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum &amp;mdash; [[Cleveland]], Ohio<br />
*San Diego Zoo &amp;mdash; [[San Diego]], California<br />
*Strong National Museum of Play &amp;mdash; [[Rochester (New York)|Rochester]], New York<br />
<br />
===Itineraries===<br />
Here is a handful of itineraries spanning regions across the United States:<br />
<br />
*[[Appalachian Trail]] &amp;mdash; a foot trail along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine<br />
*[[Braddock Expedition]] &amp;mdash; traces the French-Indian War route of British General Edward Braddock (and a younger George Washington) from [[Alexandria (Virginia)|Alexandria]], Virginia through Cumberland, Maryland to the Monongahela River near Pittsburgh.<br />
*[[The Jazz Track]] &amp;mdash; a nation-wide tour of the most important clubs in jazz history and in jazz performance today<br />
*[[Lewis and Clark Trail]] &amp;mdash; retrace the northwest route of the great American explorers along the Missouri River<br />
*[[Route 66]] &amp;mdash; tour the iconic historic highway running from Chicago to Los Angeles<br />
*[[Santa Fe Trail]] &amp;mdash; a historic southwest settler route from [[Missouri]] to [[Santa Fe (New Mexico)|Santa Fe]]<br />
*[[Touring Shaker country]] &amp;mdash; takes you to one current and eight former Shaker religious communities in the Mid-Atlantic, New England and Midwest regions of the United States.<br />
* [[U.S. Highway 1]] &amp;mdash; traveling along the east coast from Maine to Florida.<br />
<br />
==Do==<br />
<br />
* '''Music''' — Mid-size to large cities often draw big ticket concerts, especially in large outdoor amphitheaters. Small towns sometimes host concerts in parks with local or older bands. Other options include music festivals such has [[San Diego|San Diego's]] '''Street Scene''' [http://www.street-scene.com/] or '''South by Southwest''' [http://www.sxsw.com] in [[Austin]]. Classical music concerts are held year round and performed by semi-professional and professional symphonies. Boston, for instance, occasionally puts on free concerts in the Public Park. Many cities and regions have unique sounds. [[Nashville]] is known as ''Music City'' because of the large number of country artists that live in the city. It's home to the '''Grand Ole Opry''', one of the most famous music venues in the country. Country music is popular throughout the U.S. but is particularly concentrated in the South and rural West. Seattle is the home of grunge rock. Many of the most popular bands are based out of Los Angeles due to the large entertainment presence and concentration of record companies.<br />
<br />
* '''Marching Band''' — In addition to traditional music concerts, a quintessential American experience is the marching band festival. One can find these events almost every weekend between September and Thanksgiving throughout the country and again from March to June in California. Check local event listings and papers to find specifics. Also notable is the Bands of America Grand National Championship held every autumn in Indianapolis. Those looking to see the best of the best should acquire tickets to the &quot;finals&quot; performance, where the ten best bands of the festival compete for the championship. This event is now held at the Lucas Oil Stadium. Both &quot;street&quot; or parade marching bands as well as &quot;field&quot; or show bands are found at almost every high school and university in America.<br />
<br />
[[Image:JackieRobinsonStadium.jpg|thumb|250px|Baseball in [[Daytona Beach]], [[Florida]] ]]<br />
<br />
* '''Professional sports''' — The United States has a professional league for virtually every sport, including pillow fighting. A few of the most popular leagues are:<br />
** '''MLB''' [http://www.mlb.com] — Major League Baseball is very popular and the sport of baseball is often referred to as &quot;America's pastime&quot; (being one of the most widely played in the country). The league has 30 teams (29 in the U.S. and 1 in Canada). Season lasts from April to September with playoff games held in October. With 30 teams playing 162 games per team per season and the cheapest seats usually $10-20, this is possibly the best sporting event for international travelers to watch.<br />
** '''NBA''' [http://www.nba.com] — The National Basketball Association is the world's premier men's basketball league and has 30 teams (29 in the U.S. and one in Canada). Season runs November to April, with playoffs in May-June.<br />
** '''NFL''' [http://www.nfl.com] — The National Football League, with 32 teams, is the leading promoter of American football in the world, a sport which has virtually nothing in common with the sport that most other countries call football (Americans know ''that sport'' as soccer). The day of the championship game, called the ''Super Bowl,'' is an unofficial national holiday. Season lasts from September to December, with playoffs in January ending with the Super Bowl in February.<br />
** '''NHL''' [http://www.nhl.com] — The premier league for ice hockey in the world, featuring 30 teams (23 in the U.S. and 7 in Canada). A slight majority of players are Canadians, but the league has players from many other parts of the world, mainly the United States, the Nordic countries (primarily Sweden and Finland), Russia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Originally in Northern markets, recent expansions have each major region covered with a NHL team. The season runs from October to April, followed by playoffs that culminate in the Stanley Cup Finals in June.<br />
** '''INDYCAR''' [http://www.indycar.com] — Beginning as the original form of American motorsport in 1911 with the first Indianapolis 500. INDYCAR has since come to be the premier open-wheel racing series in North America. The competition in INDYCAR is known to be closer, faster, and far more dangerous than that of NASCAR. Unlike NASCAR which almost races exclusively on &quot;oval&quot; tracks, INDYCAR competes on a wide variety of tracks ranging from city streets, road courses, to ovals like the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana which plays host to the most famous and prestigious race in the world, the Indianapolis 500, where speeds can reach up to a thrilling 240 miles per hour! INDYCAR holds races all across the United States, as well as Brazil, Canada and as of 2012 China, from March to October.<br />
** '''NASCAR''' [http://www.nascar.com] — Viewed by many as a &quot;regional sport&quot; confined to the more rural areas of the South, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) has seemingly broken away from those misconceptions over recent years to become a major spectator sport across the country. While a majority of the tracks still reside in the Mid-Atlantic and South, NASCAR holds races all across the country, beginning with their marquee event, the ''Daytona 500,'' in mid-February and ending in late November. <br />
** '''MLS''' [http://www.mlssoccer.com] — Major League Soccer, newly expanded to 19 teams for 2012 (16 in the U.S. and three in Canada), is the latest attempt to kick start American interest in soccer. While it may not be as popular with the media, MLS is still widely viewed and enjoyed. Foreign travelers can find particularly vibrant and familiar fan experiences in several cities, notably Washington, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, Portland, and Seattle.<br />
* '''College sports''' — One rare feature of the United States sports landscape, as compared to that of other nations, is the extent to which sports are associated with educational institutions. In many regions of the country, local college or university teams, especially in football and men's basketball, enjoy followings that rival or surpass those of major professional teams. The primary governing body for U.S. college sports is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) [http://www.ncaa.com],&lt;!--The NCAA has two official sites. ncaa.org is the NCAA's institutional site, while ncaa.com is its sports and results site.--&gt; which has over 1,000 member schools, including essentially all of the country's best-known colleges and universities. The college football season runs from roughly September 1 through mid-December, with postseason bowl games running into early January. The basketball regular season begins in mid-November and ends in late February or early March, followed by conference tournaments and then national postseason tournaments that run through early April. The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, popularly known as &quot;March Madness&quot; (an NCAA trademark), is especially widely followed even by casual sports fans. <br />
<br />
* '''Festivals and Fairs''' — A few days prompt nation-wide celebrations. They include '''Memorial Day''', '''Independence Day''' (a.k.a. ''Fourth of July''), and '''Labor Day'''. Other major holidays like '''Thanksgiving Day''' are marked by private festivities. Many towns and/or counties throw ''fairs'', to commemorate the establishment of a town or the county with rides, games, and other attractions.<br />
** '''Memorial Day''' — commemorates the ultimate sacrifice made by America's war dead. It is not to be confused with Veterans Day (11th November) which commemorates the service of America's military veterans, both living and deceased. It is the also the unofficial start of summer -- expect heavy traffic in popular destinations, especially National Parks and Amusement Parks.<br />
** '''Independence Day''' — Celebrates America's independence from Great Britain. The day is usually marked by parades, festivals, concerts, outdoor cooking and grilling and firework displays. Almost every town puts on some sort of festivity to celebrate the day. Large cities often have multiple events. Washington, D.C. celebrates the day on the Mall with a parade and a fireworks display against the Washington Monument.<br />
** '''Labor Day''' — The U.S. celebrates Labor Day on the first Monday of September, rather than May 1st. Labor Day marks the end of the summer social season. Some places, such as [[Cincinnati]] throw parties to celebrate the day.<br />
* '''[[United States National Parks|National Parks]]'''. There are numerous national parks throughout the United States, especially the vast interior, which offer plenty of opportunities to enjoy your favorite outdoor activities, including [[Recreational shooting]], ATV riding, hiking, bird watching, prospecting, and horseback riding. In more urban areas, some national parks are centered around historic landmarks.<br />
**'''[[National Trails System]]''' is a group of twenty-one 'National Scenic Trails' and 'National Historic Trails' as well as over 1,000 shorter 'National Recreation Trails' for a total length of over 50,000 miles. While all are open to hiking, most are also open to mountain biking, horseback riding, and camping and some are even open for ATVs and cars.<br />
<br />
==Buy==<br />
===Money===<br />
The official U.S. currency is the '''United States dollar''' ('''$'''), divided into 100 '''cents''' ('''¢'''). Conversion rates vary daily and are available online [http://www.xe.com/ucc/]. The dollar is colloquially known as the '''buck''' so 5 bucks means $5. Foreign currencies are almost never accepted, although some major hotel chains may accept travelers cheques in other currencies. Canadian currency is sometimes accepted at larger stores within 100 miles of the border, but discounted for the exchange rate. (This is less of an issue nowadays with the stronger Canadian dollar.) Watch for stores that really want Canadian shoppers and will accept at par. Often, a few Canadian coins (especially pennies) won't be noticed, but less so the further south you go. Now that the Mexican peso has stabilized, it is somewhat accepted at some locations at border towns (El Paso, Laredo, etc), but you're better off exchanging your pesos in Mexico, and using U.S. dollars instead, to ensure the best exchange rate.<br />
<br />
Common American bills are for $1, $5, $10, $20, and $50 with $2 and $100 bills considerably less common. All bills are the same size. All $1, $2, and $100 bills, and older $5, $10, $20, and $50 bills are greenish and printed with black and green ink. Newer versions of the $5, $10, $20, and $50 bills incorporate different gradations of color in the paper and additional colors of ink. As designs are updated every 5-10 years, you will currently find up to three different designs of some bills in circulation. Almost all vending machines accept $1 bills and a few accept $5 bills; acceptance of larger bills ($50 and $100) by small restaurants and stores is less common. No U.S. banknotes have been devalued in the last 80 years. Coins also haven't been devalued, and coins from as early as the 1940s are still found in circulation. <br />
<br />
The standard coins are the '''penny''' (1¢, copper color), the chunky '''nickel''' (5¢, silver color), the tiny '''dime''' (10¢, silver color) and the '''quarter''' (25¢, silver color). ''None of these coins display the numeral of their value'', so it is important to recognize the names of each. The size doesn't necessarily correspond to their relative value: the dime is the smallest coin, followed by the penny, nickel, and quarter. '''Half dollar''' (50¢, silver) and '''dollar''' ($1, silver or gold) coins exist but are uncommon. Coin-operated machines usually only accept nickels, dimes, and quarters.<br />
<br />
===Currency exchange and banking===<br />
<br />
'''Currency exchange''' centers are rare outside the downtowns of major coastal and border cities, and international airports, however, many banks can also provide currency exchange services. Note that exchange rates are mediocre at airports and downright terrible at currency exchange centers in the suburbs. It is easiest to exchange major currencies like the euro, the UK pound, the Japanese yen, the Mexican peso, and the Canadian dollar. Visitors in possession of other currencies will find less places willing to accept them, or if at all, at less optimal rates. <br />
<br />
The biggest retail banks are Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank. Because interstate bank branching was legalized only in 1994, many parts of the U.S. (like Hawaii) are poorly served by the big retail banks and are dominated by local banks. <br />
<br />
Most '''automated teller machines''' (ATMs) can handle foreign bank cards or credit cards bearing Visa/Plus or MasterCard/Cirrus logos; note, however, that many ATMs charge fees of about $2.50 for use with cards issued by other banks (often waived for cards issued outside of the U.S., but banks in one's home country may charge their own fees). Smaller ATMs found in restaurants etc. often charge higher fees (up to $5). Some ATMs (such as those at Sheetz gas stations and government buildings such as courthouses) have no fee. Another option is withdrawing cash (usually up to $40 over the cost of your goods) when making a debit-card purchase at a large discount store such as Walmart or Target, or at many supermarkets. Stores almost never charge a fee for this service, though the bank that issued your card may.<br />
<br />
===Credit and debit cards===<br />
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Major credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard (and their debit card affiliates) are widely used and accepted. Nearly all large retailers will accept credit cards for transactions of all sizes, even as small as one or two dollars. However, some small businesses and independently-owned stores specify a minimum amount of money (usually $2-5, but can legally charge up to $10 minimum) for credit card use, as such transactions cost them around 30 to 50 cents (this practice is also common at bars when opening a tab). Almost all sit-down restaurants, hotels, and shops will accept credit and debit cards; those that do not post a sign saying &quot;CASH ONLY.&quot; Other cards such as American Express and Discover are also accepted, but not as widely. Many retailers have a window sticker or counter sign showing the logos of the four big U.S. credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, AmEx, and Discover. <br />
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Only a few high-end boutique stores in major cities also have window stickers for foreign cards like JCB and China UnionPay. However, both JCB and China UnionPay have alliances with Discover, so they can be used at any retailer that accepts Discover cards. <br />
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When making large purchases, it is typical for U.S. retailers to ask to see some form of photo identification. Shops may also ask for photo identification for foreign issued cards. In certain circumstances, credit/debit cards are the only means to perform a transaction. Hence if you do not have one, you can purchase a prepaid card or gift card with Visa/Mastercard or Amex logo for yourself in a good number of stores but you may need to provide identification before the card is activated.<br />
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Transaction authorization is made by signing a paper sales slip or a computer pad, although many retailers will waive the signature requirement for small purchases. The U.S. has not yet implemented the EMV &quot;chip-and-PIN&quot; credit card authorization system used overseas, due to the high cost of upgrading point-of-sale systems. However, between August 2011 and June 2012, the four big credit card networks separately announced target dates in spring 2013 for EMV implementation among their U.S. merchants, so EMV may be widespread in the U.S. by then. <br />
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Gas station pumps, selected public transportation vending machines, and some other types of automated vending machines often have credit/debit card readers. Many gas station pumps and some automated vending machines that accept credit cards ask for the zip code (i.e., postal code) of the U.S. billing address for the card, which effectively prevents them from accepting foreign cards (they are unable to detect a foreign card and switch to PIN authentication). At gas stations you can use a foreign issued card by paying the station attendant inside.<br />
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===Gift cards===<br />
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Each major commercial establishment (e.g. store, restaurant, online service) with a statewide, regional, nationwide or online presence makes its own gift card available to consumers for use at any of its establishments nationwide or its online store. In spite of the word &quot;gift&quot; in gift card, you can actually purchase and use these cards for yourself; however, they are most commonly given to others as gifts. This is a more polite way to give someone money as a gift, and is a standard gift for someone whom you don't know very well. A gift card for a certain establishment can be purchased at any of the establishment's branches. Supermarkets and pharmacies also have a variety of gift cards from different stores, restaurants and other services. Once these are purchased by you or given to you by friends, you can use a particular store or restaurant's gift card at any of its branches nationwide or online store for any amount. In case funds in the gift card are insufficient, you can use other payment methods to pay for the balance (like cash, credit card, a 2nd gift card particular to the establishment). The gift card also has instructions on how to check your remaining balance online. Take note that the gift cards are unlikely to be accepted in the establishment's branches outside the US though when you return home you can still use any remaining amount in the gift card in the establishment's online store.<br />
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===Sales tax===<br />
There is no nationwide sales tax (such as VAT or GST), the only exception being motor fuels (gasoline and diesel). As a result, state/local taxes (see below) on major purchases cannot be refunded by customs agents upon leaving the United States.<br />
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However, most states have a '''sales tax''', ranging from 2.9% to nearly 10% of the retail price; 4-6% is typical. Sales tax is '''''almost never included in posted prices''''' (except for gasoline/diesel, and in most states, alcoholic beverages consumed on-premises), but instead will be calculated and added to the total when you pay. Groceries and a variety of other &quot;necessities&quot; are usually exempt, but almost any other retail transaction &amp;ndash; including restaurant meals &amp;ndash; will have sales tax added to the total. <br />
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Delaware, New Hampshire and Oregon have no sales tax. Alaska has no statewide sales tax, but allows local governments to collect sales taxes. Montana also has no statewide sales tax, but a few local governments (mostly in tourism-dominated towns) are allowed to collect sales taxes. Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New Jersey do not collect sales tax on clothes. At least two states, Louisiana and Texas, will refund sales tax on purchases made by international travellers taken out of the state.<br />
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Regional price variations, indirect hotel and business taxes, etc. will usually have more impact on a traveler's wallet than the savings of seeking out a low-sales-tax or no-sales-tax destination. Many cities also impose sales taxes, and certain cities have tax zones near airports and business districts that are designed to exploit travelers. Thus, sales taxes can vary up to 2% in a matter of a few miles. <br />
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However, even accounting for the burden of sales taxes, U.S. retail prices still tend to be much lower than in many other countries. The U.S. has not implemented any form of value-added tax, where each segment in the supply chain is required to charge tax on the value it adds towards the final product. Rather, U.S. sales taxes are charged ''only'' by the retailer at the time of the sale of the final product to the consumer. <br />
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If you are coming to the U.S. from a higher-taxed jurisdiction in search of bargains on luxury goods, note that it is much more difficult to find most of the internationally renowned brands of luxury goods in the no-sales-tax states, as such brands have traditionally positioned their boutique stores in the largest and wealthiest states: California, Texas, New York, Illinois and Florida (all of which have sales taxes). Even if you can find a particular luxury brand in a no-sales-tax state, it will likely be only one of multiple brands carried by a local luxury retailer, meaning their inventory will not be able to match the depth of a boutique dedicated solely to that brand.<br />
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===Places for shopping===<br />
'''Shopping malls''' and '''shopping centers'''. America is the birthplace of the modern enclosed &quot;shopping mall&quot; as well as the open-air &quot;shopping center&quot;. In addition, American suburbs have miles and miles of small '''strip malls''', or long rows of small shops with shared parking lots, usually built along a high-capacity road. Large cities still maintain central shopping districts that can be navigated on public transport, but pedestrian-friendly shopping streets are uncommon and usually small.<br />
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'''Outlet centers'''. The U.S. pioneered the factory outlet store, and in turn, the outlet center, a shopping mall consisting primarily of such stores. Outlet centers are found along major Interstate highways outside of most American cities.<br />
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'''Major retailers'''. American retailers tend to have some of the longest business hours in the world, with chains like Walmart often featuring stores open 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Department stores and other large retailers are usually open from 10 AM to 9 PM most days, and during the winter holiday season, may stay open as long as 8 AM to 11 PM. The U.S. does not regulate the timing of sales promotions as in other countries. U.S. retailers often announce sales during all major holidays, and also in between for any reason or no reason at all. American retail stores are gigantic compared to retail stores in other countries, and are a shoppers' dream come true. <br />
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'''Garage sales'''. On weekends, it is not uncommon to find families selling no longer needed household items in their driveway, garage, or yard. If you see a driveway full of stuff on a Saturday, it's likely a garage sale. Check it out; one person's trash may just be your treasure. Bargaining is expected and encouraged.<br />
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'''Flea markets'''. Flea markets (called &quot;swap meets&quot; in Western states) have dozens if not hundreds of vendors selling all kinds of usually inexpensive merchandise. Some flea markets are highly specialized and aimed at collectors of a particular sort; others just sell all types of items. Again, bargaining is expected.<br />
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'''Auctions'''. Americans did not invent the auction but may well have perfected it. The fast paced, sing-song cadence of a country auctioneer, selling anything from farm animals to estate furniture, is a special experience, even if you have no intention of buying. In big cities, head to the auction chambers of Christie's or Sotheby's, and watch paintings, antiques and works of art sold in a matter of minutes at prices that go into the millions.<br />
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===Major U.S. retail chains===<br />
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According to Deloitte, the largest fashion goods retailer in both the U.S. and the entire world is Macy's, Inc., which operates over 800 Macy's midrange department stores in 45 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam, plus a smaller number of upscale Bloomingdale's stores. In other words, nearly every mall you visit will have a Macy's.<br />
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Nordstrom is another upscale department store that is also found in most states. Other midrange stores include Kohl's, Sears, and JCPenney, while the lower end is dominated by Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Old Navy. General discount stores like Walmart, Target, and Kmart are ubiquitous. Many discount stores have either a small grocery section or a full supermarket; in fact, Walmart is the country's largest seller of groceries, as well as being its largest retail chain. The two largest supermarket chains are Kroger and Safeway, but both operate under legacy regional nameplates in many states. The dominant warehouse club chain is Costco, whose biggest competitor is Sam's Club (operated by Walmart). <br />
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In several areas of the retail sector, ruthless consolidation has resulted in only one surviving nationwide chain, which may compete with a number of smaller regional chains. Examples include bookstores (Barnes &amp; Noble), electronics (Best Buy), convenience stores (7-Eleven) and housewares (Bed Bath &amp; Beyond). The three big pharmacy chains are CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid.<br />
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===Costs===<br />
[[Image:Bald Eagles Homer Alaska USA.jpg|thumb|250px| Bald Eagles in [[Homer]], [[Alaska]] ]]<br />
Unless you live in Australia, Canada, Europe or Japan, the United States is generally '''expensive''', but there are ways to limit the damage. Many Europeans come to the United States for shopping (especially electronics). While prices in the United States are lower than in many European countries, keep in mind that you will be charged taxes/tariffs on goods purchased abroad. Additionally, electronics may not be compatible with standards when you return (electrical, DVD region, etc.). As such, the savings you may find shopping in the United States may easily be negated upon your return. Furthermore, your U.S.-bought item may not be eligible for warranty service in your home country. A barebones budget for camping, hostels, and cooking your food could be $30-50/day, and you can double that if you stay at motels and eat at cheap cafes. Add on a rental car and hotel accommodation and you'll be looking at $150/day and up. There are regional variations too: large cities like New York and Los Angeles are expensive, while prices go down in the countryside. Most U.S. cities have suburbs with good hotels that are often much more affordable than those in the city center and enjoy lower crime rates. Thus, if you plan to rent a car and drive between several major cities on a single visit to the U.S., it is usually a better idea to stay at safe suburban hotels with free parking, as opposed to downtown hotels that charge exorbitant parking fees. Additionally, if you have generous friends from the US who will give gift cards to you for some reason, the cards can somehow help you defray some of the costs.<br />
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If you intend to visit any of the [[United States National Parks|National Parks Service]] sites, such as the [[Grand Canyon]] or [[Yellowstone National Park]], it is worth considering the purchase of a National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass [http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm]. This costs $80 and gives access to almost all of the federally administered parks and recreation areas for one year. Considering the price of admission to many parks is at least $20 ''each'', if you visit more than a few of them, the pass will be the cheaper solution. You can trade in receipts from individual entries for 14 days at the entrance to the parks to upgrade to an annual pass, if you find yourself cruising around and ending up visiting more parks than expected.[http://store.usgs.gov/pass/general.html]<br />
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Many hotels and motels offer discounts for members of certain organizations which anyone can join, such as AAA (formerly the American Automobile Association). If you're a member, or are a member of a club affiliated with AAA (such as the Canadian Automobile Association, The Automobile Association in the UK, or ADAC in Germany), it's worth asking at check-in.<br />
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===Tipping===<br />
Tipping in America is widely used and expected. While Americans themselves often debate correct levels and exactly who deserves to be tipped, generally accepted standard rates are:<br />
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* Hairdressers, other personal services: 10-15%<br />
* Bartenders: $1 per drink if inexpensive or 15-20% of total<br />
* Bellhops: $1-2 per bag ($3-5 minimum regardless)<br />
* Hotel doorman: $1 per bag (if they assist), $1 for calling a cab<br />
* Shuttle bus drivers: $2-5 (optional)<br />
* Private car &amp; limousine drivers: 15-20%<br />
* Parking valet: $1-3 for retrieving your car (unless there's already a fee for parking)<br />
* Housekeeping in hotels: $1-2 per day for long stays or $5 minimum for very short stays (optional)<br />
* Food delivery (pizza, etc.): $2-5, 15-20% for larger orders<br />
* Bicycle messengers: $3-5<br />
* Tour guides / activity guides $5-$10 if he or she was particularly funny or informative.<br />
* Taxis: Tips of 10-20% are expected in both yellow cabs as well as livery cabs. A simple way of computing the tip is to add 10% of the fare and round up from there. Thus, if the meter reads $6.20, you pay $7 and if the meter reads $6.50, you pay $8. Always tip more for better service (for example, if the cabbie helps you with your bags or stroller). Leave a small tip if the service is lousy (for example, if the cabbie refuses to turn on the AC on a hot day). For livery cabs, tip 10-20% depending on the quality of the service but you don't need to tip at all if you hail the cab on the street and negotiate the fare in advance (leave an extra dollar or two anyway!). <br />
* Full-service restaurants: 15-20%. Many restaurants include a mandatory service charge for larger groups, in which case you do not need to tip an additional amount - check the bill.<br />
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It is important to keep in mind that the legal minimum wage for restaurant waitstaff and other tip-earners is quite low (just $2.13/hour before taxes), with the expectation that tips bring them up to a &quot;normal&quot; minimum wage. Thus, in restaurants (and certain other professions) a tip is not just a way to say &quot;thank you&quot; for service, but an essential part of a server's wages.<br />
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Remember that while it is expected for you to tip normally for adequate service, you are never obliged to tip if your service was truly awful. If you receive exceptionally poor or rude service and the manager does not correct the problem when you bring it to their attention, a deliberately small tip (one or two coins) will express your displeasure more clearly than leaving no tip at all.<br />
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If paying your bill by cash, leave a cash tip on the table when you leave (there is no need to hand it over personally or wait until it's collected), or if paying by credit card you can add it directly to the charge slip when you sign it. Look carefully, as the slip will generally inform you whether a 15% gratuity has already been added.<br />
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Tipping is not expected at restaurants where patrons stand at a counter to place their order and receive their food (such as fast-food chains). Some such restaurants may have a &quot;tip jar&quot; by the cash register, which may be used wholly at the customer's discretion in appreciation of good service. Some tipping at a cafeteria or buffet is expected since the wait staff often clears the table for you and provides refills of drinks and such.<br />
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The majority of jobs not mentioned here are not customarily tipped, and would likely refuse them. Retail employees, or those in service positions which require high qualifications (such as doctors or dentists) are good examples. ''Never'' try to offer any kind of tip to a government employee of any kind, especially police officers; this could be construed as attempted bribery (a felony offense) and might cause serious legal problems.<br />
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==Eat==<br />
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The variety of restaurants throughout the U.S. is remarkable. In a major city such as New York, it may be possible to find a restaurant from nearly every country in the world. One thing that a traveler from Europe or Latin America will notice is that many restaurants do not serve alcohol, or may only serve beer and wine. Another is the sheer number and variety of fast food and chain restaurants. Most open early in the morning and stay open late at night; a few are open 24 hours a day. A third remarkable fact is the size of the portions generally served by U.S. restaurants. Although the trend has moderated in recent years, portions have grown surprisingly large over the past two or three decades.<br />
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===Smoking===<br />
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Smoking policy is set at the state and local levels, so it varies widely from place to place. A majority of states and a number of cities ban smoking in restaurants and bars by law, and many other restaurants and bars do the same by their own policy. Some states (like New York and California) have banned ''any'' smoking indoors, while some still allow designated smoking areas. Check local information, and ask before lighting up; if a sign says &quot;No Smoking,&quot; it means it. Breaking the ban may get you ejected, fined, or even arrested - and lots of dirty looks.<br />
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In recent decades, smoking has acquired something of a social stigma—even where smoking is permitted, be sure to ask your dining companions if they mind.<br />
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===Types of restaurants===<br />
'''Fast food''' restaurants such as McDonald's, Subway and Burger King are ubiquitous. But the variety of this type of restaurant in the U.S. is astounding: pizza, Chinese and Mexican food, fish, chicken, barbecued meat, and ice-cream only begin to touch on it. Alcoholic beverages are not served in these restaurants; &quot;soda&quot; (often called &quot;pop&quot; in the Midwest through Western New York and Western Pennsylvania, or generically &quot;coke&quot; in the South) or other soft drinks are standard. Don't be surprised when you order a soda, are handed a paper cup and expected to fill it yourself from the machine (refills are often free). The quality of the food varies, but because of the strictly limited menu, it is generally good. Also the restaurants are usually clean and bright, and the service is limited but friendly. Tipping is not expected but you must clear your table after your meal.<br />
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'''Take-out''' food is very common in larger cities, for food that may take a little longer to prepare than a fast-food place can accommodate. Place an order by phone (or, at an increasing number of establishments, on the Web) and then go to the restaurant to pick it up and take it away. Many places will also deliver; in fact, in some cities, it will be easier to have pizza or Chinese food delivered than to find a sit-down restaurant.<br />
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'''Fast-Casual''' is a fairly recent new genre of restaurants that grew in popularity during the 2000's. They are places that are usually around $5-7 for a meal and involve a little bit of waiting as food is prepared fresh (although much less waiting than sit-down restaurants). They tend to be a bit healthier than most typical fast food chains and offer distinct menus. Notable fast-casuals include: Chipotle, Noodles and Company, Panera Bread, and Freddies Burgers. <br />
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'''Chain''' sit-down restaurants are a step up in quality and price from fast food, although those with discerning palates will probably still be disappointed. They may specialize in a particular cuisine such as seafood or a particular nationality, though some serve a large variety of foods. Some are well-known for the breakfast meal alone, such as the International House of Pancakes [http://www.ihop.com/] (IHOP) which serves breakfast all day in addition to other meals. A few of the larger chain restaurants include Red Lobster [http://www.redlobster.com/], Olive Garden [http://www.olivegarden.com/], Applebee's [http://www.applebees.com/] and T.G.I. Friday's [http://www.fridays.com/], to name a few. These restaurants generally serve alcoholic beverages, though not always.<br />
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Very large cities in America are like large cities anywhere, and one may select from inexpensive neighborhood eateries to extravagantly expensive '''full-service''' restaurants with extensive wine lists and prices to match. In most medium sized cities and suburbs, you will also find a wide variety of restaurants of all classes. In &quot;up-scale&quot; restaurants, rules for men to wear jackets and ties, while once ''de rigueur'', are becoming more relaxed, but you should check first if there is any doubt. This usually only happens at the most expensive of restaurants.<br />
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The '''diner''' is a typically American, popular kind of restaurant. They are usually individually run, 24-hour establishments found along the major roadways, but also in large cities and suburban areas. They offer a huge variety of large-portion meals that often include soup or salad, bread, beverage and dessert. They are usually very popular among the locals for breakfast, in the morning or after the bars. Diner chains include Denny's [http://www.dennys.com/] and Norm's [http://www.normsrestaurants.com/], but there are many non-chain diners. <br />
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No compendium of American restaurants would be complete without mentioning the '''truck stop'''. You will only encounter these places if you are taking an intercity auto or bus trip. They are located on interstate highways and they cater to truckers, usually having a separate area for diesel fuel, areas for parking &quot;big rigs&quot;, and shower facilities for truckers who sleep in their cabs. These fabled restaurants serve what passes on the road for &quot;plain home cooking&quot;: hot roast beef sandwiches, meatloaf, fried chicken, and of course the ubiquitous burger and fries -- expect large portion sizes!. In recent years the concept of the chain establishment has been adopted by truck stops as well, and two of the most ubiquitous of these, Flying J Travel Plazas and Petro Stopping Centers, have 24-hour restaurants at most of their installations, including &quot;all you can eat&quot; buffets. A general gauge of how good the food is at a given truck-stop is to note how many truckers have stopped there to eat.<br />
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Some bars double as restaurants open late at night. Note, however, that bars may be off-limits to those under 21 or unable to show photo ID proving they are not, and this may include the dining area.<br />
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American restaurants serve soft drinks with a liberal supply of ice to keep them cold (and fill the glass). Asking for no ice in your drink is acceptable, and the drink will still probably be fairly cool. If you ask for water, it will usually be chilled and served with ice, unless you request otherwise. Water will not be carbonated as may be typical in parts of Europe. If desired, &quot;sparkling water&quot; is the term for carbonated water. In many restaurants, soft drinks and tea will be refilled for you at no extra charge, but you should ask if this is not explicitly stated.<br />
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===Types of Service===<br />
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Many restaurants aren't open for '''breakfast'''. Those that do (mostly fast-food and diners), serve eggs, toast, pancakes, cereals, coffee, etc. Most restaurants stop serving breakfast between 10 and 11 AM, but some, especially diners, will serve breakfast all day. As an alternative to a restaurant breakfast, one can grab breakfast food such as doughnuts, muffins, fruits, coffee, and packaged drinks at almost any gas station or convenience store. '''Coffee shops''' (of which '''Starbucks''' is the most well-known) are popular for breakfast; although they offer pastries and other items, most people frequent them for a morning dose of caffeine. Some chains, like Dunkin' Donuts or Einstein Brothers Bagels, are sometimes liked more for their coffee than their actual food.<br />
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'''Continental Breakfast''' is a term primarily used by hotels and motels to describe a cold breakfast offering of cereal, breads, muffins, fruit, etc. Milk, fruit juices, hot coffee and tea are the typical beverages. There is usually a toaster for your bread. This is a quick, cheap (usually free) way of getting morning food.<br />
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'''Lunch''' can be a good way to get food from a restaurant whose dinners are out of your price range.<br />
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'''Dinner''', the main meal. Depending on culture, region, and personal preference, is usually enjoyed between 5 and 9pm. Most restaurants will be willing to box up your leftover food (typically referred to as a &quot;to go box&quot;). Making reservations in advance is a good idea if the restaurant is popular, &quot;up-scale&quot;, or you are dining in a large group.<br />
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'''Buffets''' are generally a cheap way to get a large amount of food. For a single, flat, rate, you can have as many servings of whatever foods are set out. However, since food can be sitting out in the heat for hours, the quality can suffer. Generally, buffets serve American or Chinese food.<br />
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Many restaurants serve '''Sunday brunch''', served morning through early afternoon, with both breakfast and lunch items. There is often a buffet. Like most other meals, quality and price can vary by restaurant.<br />
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===Types of food===<br />
[[Image:Tips n slaw.jpg|thumb|250px|Rib tips in [[Memphis]] ]]<br />
While many types of food are unchanged throughout the United States, there are a few distinct regional varieties of food. The most notable is in the [[South (United States of America)|South]], where traditional local fare includes grits (ground maize porridge), collard greens (a boiled vegetable, often flavored with ham and a dash of vinegar), sweet iced tea, barbecue (not unique to this region, but best and most common here), catfish (served deep-fried with a breadcrumb coating), cornbread, okra, and gumbo (a stew of seafood or sausage, rice, okra, and sometimes tomatoes). <br />
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'''Barbecue''', '''BBQ''', or '''barbeque''' is a delicious American specialty. At its best, it's beef brisket, ribs, or pork shoulder slowly wood smoked for hours. Ribs are served as as a whole- or half-rack or cut into individual ribs, brisket is usually sliced thin, and the pork shoulder can be shredded (&quot;pulled pork&quot;) or chopped (&quot;chopped pork&quot;). Sauce of varying spiciness may be served on the dish, or provided on the side. Various parts of the U.S. have unique styles of barbecue. Generally, the best barbecue is found in the [[South (United States of America)|South]], with the most distinct styles coming from [[Kansas City]], [[Texas]], [[Tennessee]], and [[North Carolina]]. However, barbecue of some variety is generally available throughout the country. Barbecue restaurants differ from many other restaurants in that the best food is often found at very casual establishments. A typical barbecue restaurant may have plastic dinnerware, picnic tables, and serve sandwiches on cheap white bread. Barbecue found on the menu at a fancy chain or non-specialty restaurant is likely to be less authentic. Ribs and chicken are always eaten with your fingers; pork and brisket are either eaten with a fork or put into a sandwich. ''Note that the further one gets from the South, the more likely that &quot;barbecue&quot; refers to food cooked on a grill with no smoking, such as hamburgers or hot dogs.''<br />
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With a rich tradition of immigration, America has a wide variety of '''ethnic foods'''; everything from Ethiopian cuisine to Laotian food is available in major cities with large immigrant populations.<br />
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'''Chinese food''' is widely available and adjusted to American tastes. Authentic Chinese food can be found in restaurants in Chinatowns in addition to communities with large Chinese populations. Japanese '''sushi''', '''Vietnamese''', and '''Thai food''' have also been adapted for the American market in recent years. '''Fusion''' cuisine combines Asian ingredients and techniques with more traditional American presentation. '''Indian food''' outlets are available in most major U.S. cities and towns.<br />
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'''Mexican/Hispanic/Tex-Mex food''' is very popular, but again in a localized version. Combining in various ways beans, rice, cheese, and spiced beef or chicken with round flatbread loaves called ''tortillas'', dishes are usually topped with spicy tomato ''salsa'', sour cream, and an avocado-based dip called ''guacamole''. Small authentic Mexican ''taquerias'' can be found easily in the [[Southwest (United States of America)|Southwest]], and increasingly in cities throughout the country.<br />
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'''Middle Eastern''' and '''Greek''' foods are also becoming popular in the United States. The ''gyro'' (known as &quot;doner kebab&quot; or &quot;schawarma&quot; in Europe) is a popular Greek sandwich of sliced processed lamb on a pita bread topped with lettuce, tomatoes and a yogurt-cucumber sauce. ''Hummus'' (a ground chickpea dip/spread) and ''baklava'' pastries are frequently found in supermarkets, along with an increasingly widespread and high-quality array of &quot;pita&quot; products.<br />
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'''Vegetarian food''' is easy to come by in big urban areas. As vegetarians are becoming more common in the U.S., so are the restaurants that cater to them. Most big cities and college towns will have vegetarian restaurants serving exclusively or primarily vegetarian dishes. In smaller towns you may need to check the menu at several restaurants before finding a vegetarian main course, or else make up a meal out of side dishes. Wait staff can be helpful answering questions about meat content, but be very clear about your personal definition of vegetarian, as dishes with fish, chicken, egg, or even small quantities of beef or pork flavouring may be considered vegetarian. This is especially common with vegetable side dishes in the South. Meat-free breakfast foods such as pancakes or eggs are readily available at diners. <br />
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People on low-fat or low-calorie diets should be fairly well-served in the U.S., as there has been a continuing trend in '''calorie consciousness''' since the 1970s. Even fast-food restaurants have &quot;lite&quot; specials, and can provide charts of calorie and fat counts on request.<br />
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For the ''backpacker'' or those on ''very restricted budgets'', American '''supermarkets''' offer an almost infinite variety of ''pre-packaged''/''pre-processed'' foods that are either ready or almost ready for consumption, e.g. breakfast cereal, ramen noodles, canned soups, etc.<br />
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In the largest cities, &quot;corner stores&quot; abound. These small convenience stores carry a variety snacks, drinks, and prepackaged foods. Unlike most convenience stores, their products are sold at relatively low prices (especially by urban standards) and can provide for snacks or even (nutritionally partial) meals for a budget no more than $5 a day.<br />
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===Etiquette===<br />
It is usually inappropriate to join a table already occupied by other diners, even if it has unused seats; Americans prefer this degree of privacy when they eat. Exceptions are cafeteria-style eateries with long tables, and at crowded informal eateries and cafes you may have success asking a stranger if you can share the table they're sitting at. Striking up a conversation in this situation may or may not be welcome, however.<br />
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Table manners, while varying greatly, are typically European influenced. Slurping or making other noises while eating are considered rude, as is loud conversation (including phone calls). It is fairly common to wait until everybody at your table has been served before eating. You should lay cloth napkins across your lap; you can do the same with paper napkins, or keep them on the table. Offense isn't taken if you don't finish your meal, and most restaurants will package the remainder to take with you, or provide a box for you to do this yourself (sometimes euphemistically called a &quot;doggy bag&quot;, implying that the leftovers are for your pet). If you want to do this, ask the server to get the remainder &quot;to go&quot;; this term will be almost universally understood, and will not cause any embarrassment. Some restaurants offer an &quot;all-you-can-eat&quot; buffet or other service; taking home portions from such a meal is either not allowed, or carries an additional fee.<br />
<br />
Many fast food items (sandwiches, burgers, pizza, tacos, etc) are designed to be eaten by hand (so-called &quot;finger food&quot;); a few foods are almost always eaten by hand (french fries, barbecue, chicken on the bone) even at moderately nice restaurants. If unsure, eating finger food with a fork and knife probably won't offend anyone; eating fork-and-knife food by hand might, as it's considered &quot;uncivilized&quot; and rude.<br />
<br />
When invited to a meal in a private home it is considered polite for a guest to ask if they can bring anything for the meal, such a dessert, a side dish, or for an outdoor barbecue, something useful like ice or plastic cups or plates. The host will usually refuse except among very close friends, but it is nonetheless considered good manners to bring along a small gift for the host. A bottle of wine, box of candies or fresh cut flowers are most common. Gifts of cash, prepared ready-to-serve foods, or very personal items (e.g. toiletries) are not appropriate.<br />
<br />
An exception is the '''potluck''' meal, where each guest (or group/family) must bring a food dish to share with everyone; these shared dishes make up the entire meal. Usually dishes are grouped (e.g., salads, main dishes or casseroles, side dishes, desserts); you should ask the host if they want you to bring something in particular. Ideal dishes for a potluck should be <br />
served from a large ''pot'', dish, or bowl, and would be spooned or forked on to diners' plates—hence the emphasis on salads, casseroles, and spoonable side dishes.<br />
<br />
==Drink==<br />
<br />
Drinking customs in America are as varied as the backgrounds of its many people. In some rural areas, alcohol is mostly served in restaurants rather than dedicated drinking establishments, but in urban settings you will find numerous bars and nightclubs where food is either nonexistent or rudimentary. In very large cities, of course, drinking places run the gamut from tough local &quot;shot and a beer&quot; bars to upscale &quot;martini bars&quot;.<br />
<br />
American tradition splits alcoholic drinks into ''hard liquor'' and others. Americans drink a wide array of hard liquors, partially divided by region, but for non-distilled spirits almost exclusively drink ''beer'' and ''wine''. Other fermented fruit and grain beverages are known, and sold, but not consumed in great quantities; most fruit drinks are ''soft'' (meaning 'non-alcoholic', not 'low alcohol volume'). 'Cider' without further qualifiers is a spiced apple juice, and 'hard cider' is a relatively little-consumed alcoholic beverage in spite of the U.S. having been one of its most enthusiastic consumers a mere two centuries ago. Be prepared to specify that you mean a liquor or cocktail in shops not specifically dedicated to alcohol.<br />
<br />
''Beer'' is in many ways the 'default' alcoholic beverage in the U.S., and is priced cheaply and bought without high expectations for quality. The various idioms for alcohol consumption frequently and sometimes presumptively refer to beer. While most American '''beer''' drinkers prefer light lagers &amp;ndash; until the 1990s this was the only kind commonly sold &amp;ndash; a wide variety of beers are now available all over the U.S. It is not too unusual to find a bar serving 100 or more different kinds of beer, both bottled and &quot;draft&quot; (served fresh in a cup), though most will have perhaps a dozen or three, with a half dozen &quot;on tap&quot; (available on &quot;draft&quot;). '''Microbreweries''' &amp;ndash; some of which have grown to be moderately large and/or purchased by one of the major breweries &amp;ndash; make every kind of beer in much smaller quantities with traditional methods. Most microbrews are distributed regionally; bartenders will know the local brands. Nowadays all but the most basic taverns usually have one or more local beers on tap, and these are generally more full of character than the big national brands, which have a reputation for being generic. Some '''brew pubs''' make their own beer in-house, and generally only serve the house brand. These beers are also typically considered superior to the big national brands.<br />
<br />
[[Image:Vineyards at Palisade's Horse Mountain.jpg|thumb|250px|Vineyards in [[Palisade]], [[Colorado]]]]<br />
<br />
'''Wine''' in the U.S. is also a contrast between low-quality commercial fare versus extremely high-quality product. Unlike in Europe, American wines are labeled primarily by the grape (merlot, cabernet sauvignon, Riesling, etc.). The simple categories 'red', 'white', and 'rosé' or 'pink' are also used, but disdained as sole qualifiers by oenophiles. All but the cheapest wines are usually also labeled by region, which can be a state (&quot;California&quot;), an area of a state (&quot;Central Coast&quot;), a county or other small region (&quot;Willamette Valley&quot;), or a specific vineyard (&quot;Dry Creek Vineyard&quot;). (As a general rule, the narrower the region, the higher quality the wine is likely to be.)<br />
<br />
Cheap cask wines are usually sold in a box supporting a plastic bag; bottled wines are almost universally priced as semi-luxury items, with the exception of 'fortified wines', which are the stereotypical American answer for low-price-per-milliliter-alcohol 'rotgut'.<br />
<br />
All 50 U.S. states now support winemaking, with varying levels of success and respect. '''California wines''' are some of the best in the world, and are available on most wine lists in the country. The most prestigious American wine region is California's '''[[Napa Valley]]''', although the state also has a number of other wine-producing areas, which may provide better value for your money because they are less famous. Wines from Oregon's '''[[Willamette Valley]]''' and the state of '''[[Washington (state)|Washington]]''' have been improving greatly in recent years, and can be bargains since they are not yet as well known as California wines. '''[[Michigan]]''', '''[[Colorado's Wine Country]]''', and New York State's '''[[Finger Lakes]]''' region have recently been producing German-style whites which have won international competitions. In recent years, the '''[[Llano Estacado]]''' region of Texas has become regionally renowned for its wines.<br />
<br />
'''Sparkling wines''' are available by the bottle in up-scale restaurants, but are rarely served by the glass as they often are in western Europe. The best California sparkling wines have come out ahead of some famous brand French champagnes in recent expert blind tastings. They are comparatively difficult to find in 'supermarkets' and some non-alcoholic sparkling grape juices are marketed under that name.<br />
<br />
The wines served in most bars in America are unremarkable, but wine bars are becoming more common in urban areas. Only the most expensive restaurants have extensive wine lists, and even in more modest restaurants wine tends to be expensive, even if the wine is mediocre. Many Americans, especially in the more affluent and cosmopolitan areas of the country, consider themselves knowledgeable about wine, and if you come from a wine producing country, your country's wines may be a good topic of conversation.<br />
<br />
[[Image:Bourbon.jpg|thumb|250px|America's native spirit &amp;mdash; bourbon, straight up]]<br />
<br />
'''Hard alcohol''' is usually drunk with mixers, but also served &quot;on the rocks&quot; (with ice) or &quot;straight up&quot; (un-mixed, with no ice) on request. Their increasing popularity has caused a long term trend toward drinking light-colored and more &quot;mixable&quot; liquors, especially vodka, and away from the more traditional darker liquors such as whiskey and bourbon that many older drinkers favor. However this is not an exclusive trend and many Americans still enjoy whiskey and bourbon.<br />
<br />
It was formerly wholly inappropriate to drink hard liquor before 5PM (the end of the conventional workday), even on weekends; doing so is still commonly treated as vulgar or an indicator of alcoholism. While bars will serve hard drinks before 5, don't be surprised by strange looks or remarks on the subject. A relic of this custom is '''&quot;happy hour&quot;''', a period lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours, usually between 5PM and 8PM, during which a significant discount is offered on selected drinks. Happy hour and closing time are the only presumptive customs in American bars, although 'ladies night', during which women receive a discount or some other financial incentive, is increasingly common.<br />
<br />
Although laws regulating alcohol sales, consumption, and possession vary somewhat by state and county, '''the drinking age is 21 throughout the U.S.''' except in most of the outlying territories (where it is 18). Enforcement of this varies, but if you're under 30 you should definitely be prepared to show photo ID when buying alcohol in a store or entering a bar (which often refuse admittance to &quot;minors&quot; under 21). In some states, people who are under 21 are not even allowed to be present in bars or liquor stores. A foreign passport or other credible ID will probably be accepted, but many waiters have never seen one, and it may not even be legally valid for buying alcohol in some places. As a driver's license is the most ubiquitous form of ID in the U.S. and have a magnetic strip for verification purposes, some supermarkets have begun requiring them to purchase alcohol. In such cases, it is the cash register not the cashier which prevents such purchases. It's worth noting that most American ID's have the date of birth laid out as month/day/year, while frequently other countries ID's use year/month/day or day/month/year which may cause further confusion. Using false identification to misrepresent your age is a criminal offense in all 50 states, and while most alcohol vendors will simply refuse to sell or take a blatantly fake ID away, a few also call the police which may result in prosecution.<br />
<br />
Selling alcohol is typically prohibited after a certain hour, usually 2 AM. In some states, most stores can only sell beer and wine; hard liquor is sold at dedicated liquor stores. Several &quot;dry counties&quot; &amp;ndash; mostly in southern states &amp;ndash; ban some or all types of alcohol in public establishments; private clubs (with nominal membership fees) are often set up to get around this. Sunday sales are restricted in some areas.<br />
<br />
Most towns ban drinking in public (other than in bars and restaurants of course), with varying degrees of enforcement. Even in towns which allow public drinking, a visible bottle (rather than one in a small bag, which is so commonly used for it as to be synonymous with public drinking) is either illegal or justifies police attention. All communities have some sort of ban on &quot;drunk and disorderly&quot; behavior, some quite stringent, and as a rule intoxication is an aggravating rather than exculpating factor in all but the most and least severe offenses. '''Drunk driving''' comes under fairly harsh scrutiny, with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% considered &quot;Under the Influence&quot; and many states considering 0.05% &quot;Impaired&quot; - in [[Washington D.C.]] it's illegal to drive with '''any''' amount of alcohol in your system. If you're under 21, however, most states define a DUI from 0.00-0.02%. Drunk driving checkpoints are fairly common during major &quot;party&quot; events, and although privacy advocates have carved out exceptions, if a police officer asks a driver to submit to a blood-alcohol test or perform a test of sobriety, you generally may not refuse (and in certain states such as [[New York (state)|New York]] it is a crime in its self). '''DUI (&quot;driving under the influence&quot;), OUI (&quot;operating under the influence&quot;) and DWI (&quot;driving while intoxicated&quot;) are typically punished quite harshly,''' and as a foreign national it will typically mean the end of your time in the United States - even permanent residents have had their Green Cards revoked and were subsequently deported for DUI. In many jurisdictions catching and enforcing DUIs is the main job of patrolling police; it is watched for zealously and treated severely. It is also usually against the law to have an open container of alcohol anywhere in the car other than in the trunk. Some states have &quot;open bottle&quot; laws which can levy huge fines for an open container in a vehicle, sometimes several hundred dollars per container.<br />
<br />
===Nightlife===<br />
[[Image:LasVegas Riviera Neon.JPG|thumb|250px|The bright lights of Sin City, [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]] ]]<br />
<br />
Nightclubs in America run the usual gamut of various music scenes, from discos with top-40 dance tunes to obscure clubs serving tiny slices of obscure musical genres. Country music dance clubs, or '''honky tonks''', are laid fairly thick in the South and West, especially in rural areas and away from the coasts, but one or two can be found in almost any city. Also, gay/lesbian nightclubs exist in nearly every medium- to large-sized city.<br />
<br />
Until 1977, the only U.S. state with legalized gambling was [[Nevada]]. The state has allowed games of chance since the 1930s, creating such resort cities as [[Las Vegas]] and [[Reno]] in the process. Dubbed &quot;Sin City,&quot; Las Vegas in particular has evolved into an end-destination adult playground, offering many other after-hours activities such as amusement parks, night clubs, strip clubs, shows, bars and four star restaurants. Gambling has since spread outside of Nevada to a plethora of U.S. cities like [[Atlantic City]], [[New Jersey]] and Biloxi, Mississippi, as well as to riverboats, offshore cruises and Indian reservations. State lotteries and &quot;scratch games&quot; are another, popular form of legalized gambling. However, online gaming and wagering on sports across state lines remains illegal in the U.S.<br />
<br />
==Sleep==<br />
[[Image:Seligman SupaiMotel.JPG|thumb|250px|Classic 1950s motel in [[Seligman]], [[Arizona]], along [[Route 66]]]]<br />
<br />
By far the most common form of lodging in rural United States and along many Interstates is the '''motel'''. Providing inexpensive rooms to automotive travellers, most motels are clean and reasonable with a limited array of amenities: telephone, TV, bed, bathroom. Motel 6 [http://www.motel6.com/] (+1 800 466-8356) is a national chain with reasonable rates ($30-$70, depending on the city). Super 8 Motels [http://www.super8.com/] (+1 800 800-8000) provides reasonable accommodations throughout the country as well. Reservations are typically unnecessary, which is convenient since you don't have to arbitrarily interrupt a long road trip; you can simply drive until you're tired then find a room. However, some are used by adults looking to book a night for sex or illicit activities and many are located in undesirable areas.<br />
<br />
Business or extended-stay hotels are increasingly available across the country. They can be found in smaller towns across the midwest or in coastal urban areas. Generally they are more expensive than motels, but not as expensive as full-scale hotels, with prices around $70 to $170. While the hotels may appear to be the size of a motel, they may offer amenities from larger hotels. Examples include Marriott's Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inns, and Residence Inns; Hilton's Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn; Holiday Inn's Holiday Inn Express; Starwood's Four Points by Sheraton, and Hyatt Place. <br />
<br />
Some extended-stay hotels are directed at business travelers or families on long-term stays (that are often relocating due to corporate decisions). These hotels often feature kitchens in most rooms, afternoon social events (generally by a pool), and serve continental breakfast. Such &quot;suite&quot; hotels are roughly equivalent to the '''serviced apartments''' seen in other countries, though the term &quot;serviced apartments&quot; is not generally used in American English. <br />
<br />
'''Hotels''' are available in most cities and usually offer more services and amenities than motels. Rooms usually run about $80-$300 per night, but very large, glamorous, and expensive hotels can be found in most major cities, offering luxury suites larger than some houses. Check-in and check-out times are almost always fall in the range of 11AM-noon and 2PM-4PM. Note that many U.S. cities now have &quot;edge cities&quot; in their suburbs which feature high-quality upscale hotels aimed at affluent business travelers. These hotels often feature all the amenities of their downtown/CBD cousins (and more), but at less exorbitant prices. <br />
<br />
In many rural areas, especially on the coasts and in New England, '''bed and breakfast''' (B&amp;B) lodging can be found. Usually in converted houses or buildings with less than a dozen units, B&amp;Bs feature a more home-like lodging experience, with complimentary breakfast served (of varying quality and complexity). Bed and breakfasts range from about $50 to $200 per night, with some places being much steeper. They can be a nice break from the impersonality of chain hotels and motels. Unlike Europe, most American bed and breakfasts are unmarked; one must make a reservation beforehand and receive directions there. <br />
<br />
The two best-known hotel guides covering the U.S. are the AAA (formerly American Automobile Association; typically pronounced &quot;Triple-A&quot;) TourBooks, available to members and affiliated auto clubs worldwide at local AAA offices; and the Mobil Travel Guide, available at bookstores. There are several websites booking hotels online; be aware that many of these sites add a small commission to the room rate, so it may be cheaper to book directly through the hotel. On the other hand, some hotels charge more for &quot;drop-in&quot; business than reserved rooms or rooms acquired through agents and brokers, so it's worth checking both.<br />
<br />
There are also '''[[Hostels|youth hostels]]''' across the U.S. Most are affiliated with the American Youth Hostel [http://www.hiayh.org/] organization (a Hostelling International member). Quality of hostels varies widely, but at $8-$24 per night, the prices are unbeatable. Despite the name, AYH membership is open to people of any age. Non-AYH hostels are also available, particularly in larger cities. Be aware that hostels are clustered in more touristy locations, do not assume that all mid sized towns will have a hostel.<br />
<br />
'''Camping''' can also be a very affordable lodging option, especially with good weather. The downside of camping is that most campgrounds are outside urban regions, so it's not much of an option for trips to big cities. There is a huge network of National Parks [http://www.nps.gov/] (+1 800 365-2267), with most states and many counties having their own park systems, too. Most state and national campgrounds are of excellent quality, with beautiful natural environments. Expect to pay $7-$20 per car on entry. Kampgrounds of America [http://www.koakampgrounds.com/] (KOA) has a chain of commercial campground franchises across the country, of significantly less charm than their public-sector equivalents, but with hookups for recreational vehicles and amenities such as laundromats. Countless independently owned private campgrounds vary in character.<br />
<br />
Some '''unusual''' lodging options are available in specific areas or by prior arrangement. For example, you might enjoy staying on a '''houseboat''' in [[Lake Tahoe]] or the Erie Canal. Or stay in a '''treehouse''' in Oregon. More conventional lodging can be found at college or university dormitories, a few of which rent out rooms to travelers during the summertime. Finally, in many tourist areas, as well as big cities, one can rent a furnished house by the day.<br />
<br />
==Learn==<br />
<br />
Short courses may be undertaken on a tourist visa. Community colleges typically offer college-credit courses on an open-admissions basis; anyone with a high school degree or its equivalent and the required tuition payment can generally enroll. In large cities, open universities may offer short non-credit courses on all sorts of practical topics, from ballroom dance to buying real estate. They are a good place to learn a new skill and meet people.<br />
<br />
Studying full-time in the United States is an excellent opportunity for young adults seeking an advanced education, a chance to see a foreign country, and a better understanding of the U.S. and its people. It can be done independently by applying directly to a college for admission, or through the &quot;study abroad&quot; or &quot;foreign exchange&quot; department of a college in your own country, usually for a single term or one year. (Either approach requires, at minimum, an F or J student visa.) The latter is usually easiest; the two institutions will handle much of the arrangements, and you don't have to make a commitment to four years living in a strange country. Be forewarned, however: many state universities and private colleges are located in small towns, hundreds of miles from any big urban centers. Don't expect to spend your weekends in [[New York City|New York]] if your college is in [[North Dakota]] unless it is part of the academic activities in your school/course.<br />
<br />
The common requirements to study at a higher education level will include your admissions essay (also known as the statement of purpose or personal statement), transcript of records, recommendation/reference letters, language tests (TOEFL is most widely accepted but it can be waived if your previous school primarily used English as a medium of instruction), standardised achievement tests (SAT for undergraduate, GMAT/GRE for graduate), degree certificates. As the TOEFL, SAT, GMAT or GRE are administered by the New Jersey-based ETS, you can sit the exam in your home country well beforehand and arrange for your scores to be directly sent to the school you are applying to. You may need to present these documents including your acceptance letter when applying for a student visa. <br />
<br />
The types of schools vary dramatically. (In conversation, Americans tend to use the terms &quot;school&quot; and &quot;college&quot; inclusively: any college or university might be referred to as &quot;school&quot;, and a university might be called &quot;college&quot;.) State university systems are partially subsidized by state governments, and may have many campuses spread around the state, with hundreds of thousands of students. Private colleges are generally smaller (hundreds or a few thousand students), with a larger percentage of their students living on campus; some are affiliated with churches and may be more religious in character. Other kinds of colleges focus on teaching specific job skills, education for working adults, and providing inexpensive college-level education to local residents. Although nearly all colleges are open to students regardless of race, gender, religion, etc. many were originally established for a particular group (e.g. African-Americans, women, members of a particular religion) and may still attract primarily students from that group. Several private colleges remain female-only, there are a few male-only private colleges, and private religious colleges may expect students to practise the school's faith.<br />
<br />
Colleges are funded by &quot;tuition&quot; charged to the student, which is often quite expensive, very commonly reaching into the tens of thousands of dollars per year. The most selective colleges (and hence, often the most desirable) run up to $40,000-$50,000 dollars per year, including both tuition and &quot;room &amp; board&quot; in that price. Most U.S. citizens receive substantial financial assistance from the federal government in the form of grants and low-interest loans, which are not available to non-citizens. Often financial aid for foreign students is provided by their home country. They may be eligible for privately-funded &quot;scholarships&quot; intended to provide educational opportunities for various kinds of students. Some U.S. banks offer loans to foreign students, which usually require a citizen to guarantee that they'll be repaid. Contact the Financial Aid Office of any college you are interested in attending for more information about the sources of aid available.<br />
<br />
Almost all U.S. colleges and universities operate web sites (in the .edu domain) with information for prospective students and other visitors. Information on touring a handful of them has been collected into [[Touring famous universities in the U.S.]].<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
<br />
Work in America is best arranged long before you enter the United States. Young people who are full time students of certain nationalities can apply for a J1 &quot;Exchange Visitor&quot; visa [http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1267.html] which permits paid work as au pairs or summer work for up to 4 months in virtually any type of job. The United States Department of State has full information on applying for this type of visa including the precise categories that qualify.<br />
<br />
The H-1B visa allows a limited number of skilled and certain unskilled employees to temporarily work in the United States. It usually requires a tertiary degree and is based on a petition filed by an American employer. The job you wish to apply for should be related to your degree. The most common careers of hard-to-get H-1B visa holders are nurses, math teachers, and computer science professionals. On the other hand, there is the more permanent employment-based immigrant visa which has similar requirements to the H-1B visa. Whichever visa you wish to apply for, it is important to note that the employer must ensure that nobody within his locale is willing or qualified to do the job before considering you. <br />
<br />
Paid work is generally not allowed on a B1/B2 visitor visa. Working unlawfully in the United States runs the very real risk of arrest, deportation, and ineligibility to re-enter the country. Illegal immigrants also run the risk of dangerous work conditions. <br />
<br />
If you are seeking to adjust visa status or to enter the U.S. on a working visa you should first check the official government websites of the U.S. Department of State[http://www.state.gov], which issues visas abroad, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [http://www.uscis.gov] which administers immigration programs within the United States. Unfortunately, con artists both in the U.S. and overseas often prey on people's desire to travel or work here. Keep in mind that while visa applications do not usually require an attorney or other intermediary, be wary of and verify any &quot;advice&quot; offered by third parties, especially non-lawyers. If in doubt about properly applying for such visas, it is best to get a licensed immigration attorney.<br />
<br />
Keep in mind that anyone entering under the Visa Waiver Program '''cannot''' adjust their status for any reason.<br />
<br />
==Stay safe==<br />
<br />
===Crime===<br />
While there are locations throughout the United States with higher crime rates, most crime is concentrated in '''inner city''' neighborhoods. Few visitors to the U.S. experience any sort of crime. Much crime is gang- or drug-related or the result of family / personal disputes, and it usually occurs in areas that are of little interest to visitors. You can all but ensure that you won't experience crime by taking common-sense precautions and staying alert to your surroundings. Locations frequented by tourists and visitors (National Mall in Washington DC, and Manhattan in NYC) often have a police presence and are quite safe for all but petty crimes.<br />
<br />
Most American urban areas have homeless people. In some areas aggressive panhandling is a concern. If you feel you are being harassed, say NO firmly and walk away. <br />
<br />
Security has increased along the United States–Mexico border due to increased illegal immigration and drug crime. Only cross the country's borders at official crossings.<br />
<br />
===Police===<br />
<br />
American police are generally polite, professional, and honest. When in uniform, they are also more formal, cautious, and cold than police in, say, Latin America—especially in large cities. If stopped by traffic police, you should stay calm, be polite and cooperative, avoid making sudden movements, and state what you are doing if you need to reach for your purse or wallet to present your identification. Turn on the inside car lights and keep your hands on the wheel to make it clear that you are not a threat; do not exit the vehicle unless told to do so.<br />
<br />
'''Do ''not'' offer bribes''' to a police officer in any way or under any circumstances. U.S. police culture categorically rejects bribes, and the mere suggestion would very likely result in your immediate arrest. If you need to pay a fine, the officer can direct you to the appropriate police station, courthouse, or government office. Most minor traffic infractions can be paid by mail.<br />
<br />
===911/Emergency Services===<br />
<br />
During any emergency, dialing '''911''' (pronounced &quot;nine-one-one&quot;) at any telephone will connect you to the emergency services in the area (police, fire, ambulance, etc). Calls to 911 are free from payphones and any mobile phone capable of connecting with local carriers. Give the facts. The dispatchers will send help. Unless you are calling from a mobile phone, the 911 operator can almost certainly trace your line instantly and locate you. <br />
<br />
With mobile phones it is more difficult, and in some states you may be connected to the regional office for the state police or highway patrol, which will then have to transfer you to the appropriate local agency once they talk to you and figure out what you need. In recent years, more and more mobile phones have incorporated GPS devices that will display the user's precise geographical location to the 911 operator.<br />
<br />
If you are staying in one area, it may be helpful to have the phone numbers for the local emergency services so as to get through directly to the local dispatch. Moreover, in most locations, 911 calls are recorded and are open, public records, while the conversation with the local emergency dispatchers cannot be accessed by the public. Do remember that if you dial emergency dispatchers directly instead of through 911, the operator may not be able to trace your location.<br />
<br />
Note also that if you have a GSM mobile phone (the standard technology in most of the world, especially in Europe), you can also dial 112, which is the standard emergency number for GSM networks worldwide. U.S. GSM carriers (AT&amp;T, T-Mobile, and smaller regional operators) automatically redirect 112 calls to 911.<br />
<br />
As with most countries, misuse of the emergency services number will result in, at the very least, a call back from authorities; at the very most, you being arrested.<br />
<br />
===Border Patrol===<br />
<br />
You may encounter the United States Border Patrol if you're transiting through or visiting cities geographically close to Canada (such as [[Detroit]]) or Mexico ([[San Diego]]) as well as in Southern coastal areas ([[Florida Keys]]). Border Patrol has the authority to verify immigration status and enforce immigration laws in places designated as &quot;border zones&quot; - generally within 40 miles of Canada and 75 miles of Mexico (although the law allows for 100 miles from any border, including sea; this includes the entirety of some states and the majority of population centres). Presence near Canada tends to be unobtrusive (generally limited to checking long distance buses, Amtrak trains and their associated terminals.) On the border with Mexico and in Southern coastal areas, systematic vehicle checkpoints or being stopped on the street with a friendly &quot;Papers Please...&quot; is much more likely. <br />
<br />
As a foreign national you are legally required to have your passport, visa, and I94(W) entry record (or Green Card) in your possession at all times, and if you're in the border zone the consequences for not having them could be severe. You may be delayed or detained until your status can be verified, long-term visa and Green Card holders have been fined, or in extreme cases had their visas canceled for being without their documents. If your documents are in order you generally won't be questioned. Even US Citizens are increasingly being advised to carry proof of citizenship, or at the very least identification of some kind, in these areas.<br />
<br />
Border Patrol does not have a presence outside the border zones (and the agency responsible for inland enforcement doesn't target tourists). In most States, police and other local authorities can not question you about your immigration status or ask to see passports or visas unless you're arrested and charged with a crime, and then only for the purpose of connecting you with a representative from your country's embassy or diplomatic mission.<br />
<br />
===Natural disasters===<br />
The U.S. is a huge country with very varied geography, and parts of it are occasionally affected by natural disasters: '''hurricanes''' in June through November in the [[South (United States of America)|South]] including [[Florida]], '''blizzards''' (sometimes called '''&quot;Noreasters&quot;''') in New England and the areas near the Great Lakes and the Rocky Mountains, '''tornadoes''' mostly in the [[Great Plains]] region, '''earthquakes''' in [[California]] and [[Alaska]], '''floods''' in areas of the [[Midwestern United States]] and '''wildfires''' in the late summer and early fall in Texas and on the West Coast, particularly [[California]]. See the regions in question for more details. <br />
<br />
Because tornadoes are so common between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains, this area has earned itself the colloquial name '''Tornado Alley'''. The '''San Andreas Fault''' is a tectonic plate boundary running through California, an area prone to earthquakes.<br />
<br />
===Gay and lesbian===<br />
<br />
Homosexuality is legal. Many states and cities have anti-discrimination codes, including public accommodations in hotels, restaurants and transport. Several states have legalized gay marriage or civil unions, though this is not recognized at the federal level. <br />
<br />
In general, Americans take a live-and-let-live approach to sexuality, but there are significant exceptions. It's generally not a problem to be open about one's sexual orientation, though you may recieve unwanted attention or remarks in some situations. Attitudes toward homosexuality vary widely, even in regions with a reputation for tolerance or intolerance. Acceptance is most common in major cities throughout the country and smaller cities, suburbs and college towns especially around the Pacific Coast, the Northeast and Hawaii. Homophobia and anti-gay violence may be encountered in some suburban and rural areas, especially in the Southeast and interior West, but the chances of this are relatively low.<br />
<br />
Gay-friendly destinations, where openly gay couples are common, include [[New York City|New York]]'s [[Manhattan/Chelsea Garment District|Chelsea]], [[Rochester]] in Western [[New York State]], [[Chicago]]'s [[Chicago/Lakeview-North Center|Boystown]], [[Seattle]]'s [[Seattle/Capitol Hill-Central District|Capitol Hill]], [[San Francisco]]'s [[San Francisco/Castro-Noe Valley|Castro Street]], [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]'s [[Washington (D.C.)/Dupont Circle|Dupont Circle]], [[Miami Beach]]'s [[Miami/South Beach|South Beach]], [[Atlanta]]'s [[Atlanta/Midtown|Midtown]] and [[Los Angeles]]' [[West Hollywood]]. Even outside of gay neighborhoods, many major cities are gay-friendly, especially in the Northeast and the West Coast. An increasing number of resort areas are known as gay-friendly, including [[Fire Island]], [[Key West]], [[Asheville]], [[Provincetown]], [[Ogunquit]], [[Rehoboth Beach]], [[Saugatuck-Douglas|Saugatuck]], and parts of [[Asbury Park]]. In other smaller cities, there are neighborhoods where gay people tend to congregate, many have resource centers for LGBTQ people.<br />
<br />
Some gay-friendly businesses like to advertise themselves as such with a rainbow flag or a small pink triangle or three-vertical-striped sticker in the window. Of course, chances are you'll also be welcome at any other public establishment.<br />
<br />
Men planning to engage in any sex, should be aware the heightened risk of HIV and other infections in the United States. A gay American man is 44 times more likely to contract HIV than a heterosexual one, and 46 times more likely to contract syphilis. This risk grows greatly among men likely to engage in one-night stands and other higher-risk behavior. In a nation where 0.5% of the population are infected with HIV, unprotected sex is a very real risk. Precausions, including safer sex, are strongly advised during your stay. Most cities have affordable or free testing and treatment centers for STIs at least for gay men, though hours may be limited and waits may be long. Planned parenthood [http://www.plannedparenthood.org/] is often an affordable alternative. The life-long reprucssions of HIV or other STIs aren't covered. Seeking health care elsewhere can be very pricey.<br />
<br />
===Illicit drugs===<br />
<br />
Street drugs, including marijuana, are illegal throughout the U.S. Marijuana use is more widely accepted than other drugs (particularly on the West Coast), but generally not to the degree that it is in Canada or Western European countries. Although a few states have passed laws legalizing the medical use of marijuana, this will not protect any foreign citizen caught in possession. Outside of drug-using circles, most Americans frown upon illicit drug use regardless of quantity, and travelers would be wise to avoid using such substances in the United States. Penalties can be very severe, and can include mandatory minimum jail terms for possession of personal quantities in some states. Also, ANY drug possession near a school, however slight the quantity, will land you a heavy jail term. Attempting to bring any quantity into the U.S. poses a serious risk of being arrested for &quot;trafficking&quot;.<br />
<br />
===Prostitution===<br />
<br />
Prostitution is illegal in all areas except at licensed brothels in rural [[Nevada]] counties. In other states, tolerance and enforcement of prostitution laws vary considerably, but be aware that police routinely engage in &quot;sting&quot; operations in which an officer may pose as a prostitute to catch and arrest persons offering to pay for sex.<br />
<br />
===Firearm-Related Issues===<br />
<br />
It's true: many—but by no means all—Americans own a firearm of one sort or another; firearm ownership is legal in all locales with varying degrees of restriction by state. Legally carried firearms can range from hunting rifles and shotguns to semi-automatic handguns.<br />
<br />
Non-immigrant aliens that are in the country for fewer than 180 days cannot possess a firearm or ammunition, unless they came here specifically for hunting or sporting purposes, ''or'' they have a valid hunting license from the state they are visiting. Passport + Visa + State Issued Hunting License = firearm possession / use. Entry in a recognized shooting competition also qualifies. Anything else is strictly illegal.<br />
<br />
The vast majority of Americans are non-violent except in self defense; they are responsible with their firearms and use/carry them appropriately and within the limits of the law. All States have laws regarding self defense which allow a person to use force, up to and including deadly force, in defense of themselves or others when in reasonable fear of seriously bodily injury or death. This right to self-defense extends to protection of one's home, and, in some states, to other types of personal property.<br />
<br />
Your chances of a firearm-related injury in the U.S.A. are '''very low''', but please keep the following in mind:<br />
<br />
* In the city, encountering somebody with an openly visible firearm is more of a cause of concern than seeing somebody with one in the country, and may be a sign of oncoming trouble. Note, however, that many states permit &quot;open carry&quot; for legal firearm owners and, while uncommon in cities, you may encounter somebody with a holstered firearm. Many states also have &quot;concealed-carry&quot; laws which enable people with the appropriate permit to possess a concealed firearm on their person, in their handbag, jacket, car glovebox, etc.<br />
* When approaching a stranger's house or apartment, especially at night, make special effort to stand within the view of the door's peephole or in the light (so you can clearly be seen from the inside), and keep your hands visible at all times. Many people, approached at their homes by a stranger, will treat you as if you may be armed until shown otherwise; you should do the same.<br />
* In fact, it's a good idea to remember that anyone you encounter may be armed at almost any time. It's not likely, but it's almost always a possibility. That means avoiding physical confrontations, and avoiding making any sudden moves that could be viewed as threatening in a tense situation.<br />
* Hunting is a popular sport in rural America. In general travel on marked trails will not put you in any danger, but if venturing off the beaten path it is a good idea to inquire if any hunting is currently afoot and where, and if so to wear bright colors (particularly &quot;Blaze Orange&quot;) to differentiate yourself from terrain and prey. If you have a dog with you, you should also put a blaze orange vest on it as well. If you wish to hunt you will need to obtain permits and should review local regulations.<br />
* Property owners may defend their homes with firearms during a burglary or home invasion.(see above) If in rural areas, do not cross land posted as private property without permission from the owner, or you may be shot.<br />
* Shooting is a popular recreational activity in America that many tourists wish to participate in. Many shooting ranges are more than happy to accommodate tourists and will have a variety of firearms available to rent and shoot at the range, but many will have a &quot;two person minimum&quot; rule and will not rent firearms to lone individuals for safety reasons.<br />
<br />
==Stay healthy==<br />
<br />
===Disease===<br />
<br />
Being a highly industrialized nation, the United States is largely free from most serious communicable diseases found in many developing nations; however, the '''HIV rate is higher''' than in Canada and Western Europe, with about a 0.5% infection rate in the overall population.<br />
<br />
Two diseases that, while rare, are worth becoming educated about are '''rabies''' and '''Lyme disease'''. Rabies is more prevalent in eastern regions of the country and may be contracted from animal bites; if you are bitten by any mammal see a doctor quickly - do not wait for symptoms. Lyme disease is spread via the deer tick, which are prevalent in the woodlands and open fields of many rural areas. When venturing into the outdoors, it is a good idea to apply an insect repellent onto exposed skin surfaces that is effective against deer ticks.<br />
<br />
Other diseases that are endemic within the United States, but are of far less concern, include '''Hantaviral Pulmonary Syndrome''' (found in western regions), '''Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever''' (mostly in the Rocky Mountain region), '''West Nile Virus''' (all regions)and '''Eastern/Western Equine Encephalitis''' (particularly in the mid-west region).<br />
<br />
It should be noted that all of the above listed diseases are extraordinarily rare and the medical system of the United States is very much capable of handling any of these when necessary.<br />
<br />
For the latest in traveler's health information pertaining to the United States, including advisories and recommendations, visit the '''Centers for Disease Control and Prevention''' destination United States website [http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/unitedstates.aspx]<br />
<br />
===Health care===<br />
<br />
The American health care system is world-class in quality, but can be very expensive. Americans generally use private health insurance, paid either by their employer or out of their own pocket; some risk paying high hospital bills themselves, or depend on government subsidized health plans. As a traveler you should have [[travel insurance]] or you will potentially face high costs if you need medical care.<br />
<br />
Most metropolitan areas will have a mix of public and private hospitals, and in turn, U.S. private hospitals can be either nonprofit or for-profit. Public hospitals located in wealthy suburbs can be as good as private ones, but in poorer inner-city areas, public hospitals are usually overcrowded and run-down and should be avoided by tourists. However, many public hospitals are also the Level I regional trauma centers for their respective metro areas (i.e., they guarantee 24-hour on-site availability of all major types of medical specialists), which means that you will be taken there if critically injured. <br />
<br />
In a life-threatening emergency, call 911 to summon an ambulance to take you to the nearest '''hospital emergency room''' (&quot;ER&quot;), or in less urgent situations get to the hospital yourself and register at the ER's front desk. Emergency rooms will treat patients without regard to their ability to pay, but you will still be presented with a bill for all care. ''Do not'' use ERs for non-emergency walk-in care. Not only can this be 3-4 times more expensive than other options, but you will often wait many hours (or days) before being treated, as the staff will give priority to patients with urgent needs. In most areas, the charge for an emergency room visit starts around $500, in addition to any specific services or medications you may require. Most urban areas have minor emergency centers (also called &quot;urgent care&quot;, etc.) for medical situations where a fully equipped emergency room would be excessive, such as superficial lacerations. However, their hours may be limited, and few are open overnight. <br />
<br />
Walk-in '''clinics''' are another place for travelers to find routine medical care, letting patients see a doctor or nurse-practitioner without an appointment (but often with a bit of a wait). They are typically very up-front about fees, and always accept credit cards. To find one, check the yellow pages under &quot;Clinics&quot;, or call a major hospital and ask. Make sure to tell the clerk you will be paying &quot;out of pocket&quot;; if they assume an insurance company will be paying for it, they may order tests that are not medically essential and in some cases bill for services that aren't actually provided.<br />
<br />
'''Dentists''' are readily available throughout the United States (again, see the yellow pages). Dental offices are accustomed to explaining fees over the phone, and most will accept credit cards.<br />
<br />
Most counties and cities have a government-supported clinic offering free or low-cost testing and treatment for '''sexually transmitted diseases'''; call the Health Department for the county you are in for more details. Many county clinics offer primary health care services as well, however these services are geared towards low-income residents and not foreign travelers. Planned Parenthood [http://www.plannedparenthood.org/] (1-800-230-7526) is a private agency with clinics and centers around the country providing birth control and other reproductive health services for both females and males.<br />
<br />
==Cope==<br />
===Dress===<br />
Today, dress in the U.S. tends to be fairly casual. For everyday clothes, jeans and T-shirts are always acceptable, as are shorts when the weather is suitable. Sneakers (athletic shoes) are common; flip-flops and sandals are also popular in warm weather.<br />
<br />
At the workplace, business casual (slacks, understated collared shirts without a tie, and non-athletic shoes) is now the default at many companies; more traditional industries (e.g. finance, legal, and insurance) still require suits and ties, while others (e.g. computer software) are even more casual, allowing jeans and even shorts.<br />
<br />
When dressing up for nice restaurants or upscale entertainment, a pair of nice slacks, a collared shirt, and dress shoes will work almost everywhere. Ties for men are rarely necessary, but jackets are occasionally required for very upscale restaurants in big cities (such restaurants almost always will have courtesy jackets on offer if you forget).<br />
<br />
At the beach or pool, men prefer loose bathing trunks or boardshorts, and women wear bikinis or one-piece swimsuits. Nude bathing is not generally acceptable and is usually illegal except at certain private beaches or resorts; even women going topless is not usually accepted by most people, and is also illegal in some states.<br />
<br />
Generally, Americans accept religious attire such as hijab, yarmulke, and burqa without comment. However, do be aware that in places of heightened security such as banks, municipal buildings, and so on, wearing clothing which covers the face may be regarded as suspicious behavior and is generally unadvisable.<br />
<br />
==Respect==<br />
[[Image:BurningMan-2003.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Black Rock City|Burning Man]], [[Nevada]] ]]<br />
<br />
* Americans generally find foreign culture and language fascinating and you will likely be bombarded with questions that you may find silly or inane about your home. Questions such as these are nearly always meant in a friendly and inquisitive manner.<br />
* It is polite to '''shake hands''' when meeting someone or being introduced. It is often omitted in less formal situations.<br />
* Unless it is really crowded, leave about an arm's length of '''personal space''' between yourself and others.<br />
* As a result of its history of racial discrimination and the modern push toward equality, Americans are exceptionally touchy about issues of race. If you have to reference race, ''Black'' or ''African-American'', ''Asian'', ''Latino'' or ''Hispanic'', ''Native American'' or ''American Indian'', and ''White'' or ''Caucasian'' are acceptable terms. <br />
* Videotaping in any indoor public-use place is heavily frowned upon in the United States of America and can rather easily result in ejection from the premises, even without warning. Places that are especially against videotaping by visitors include shopping malls, stores, restaurants, museums, arcades, movie theaters, clubs, bars, taverns, and stadiums.<br />
** There are '''Native American reservations''' scattered throughout the country. Many of these reservations are home to sites that are sacred to the tribe, and certain places may be off-limits to all but tribe members. If you enter a reservation's territory, please be sure to respect the land.<br />
<br />
Also see the section on [[#Tipping|tipping]], and the section on [[#Smoking|smoking]].<br />
<br />
==Contact==<br />
<br />
===By phone===<br />
U.S. '''telephone numbers''' are invariably written in one of these formats<br />
* XXX-YYY-ZZZZ<br />
* (XXX)&amp;nbsp;YYY-ZZZZ<br />
* YYY-ZZZZ<br />
The numbers YYY-ZZZZ make up the local part of the telephone number; you must dial all seven digits even if the YYY is the same as the line you are calling from. The numbers XXX denote the '''area code'''. Especially densely populated areas may have several area codes (e.g. the six area codes within the borders of New York City), while some sparsely-populated states will have one or two codes for the entire state (e.g. Montana). Ordinarily, if the number you are dialing is within the same area code as the one for the line you are dialing from, dial YYY-ZZZZ; otherwise, dial 1-XXX-YYY-ZZZZ. However, many metropolitan areas, and even some entire states (such as Maryland and West Virginia) have '''10-digit dialing''', where all local calls must be dialed as XXX-YYY-ZZZZ. (In such areas, you must still dial &quot;1&quot; to distinguish long-distance calls.) Mobile phones are much simpler and can be dialed with all 10 digits regardless of whether the call is local or long distance.<br />
<br />
You may occasionally see phone numbers for business which spell out words, such as &quot;1-800-FLOWERS&quot;. Almost all phones have letters written on each number (&quot;2&quot; is &quot;ABC&quot;, &quot;3&quot; is &quot;DEF&quot;, etc.) which you use to dial the number; for example, &quot;FLOWERS&quot; becomes &quot;356-9377&quot;. Almost all mobile phones with alphabetic keypads (such as the U.S. standard of QWERTY) allow you to enter letters as part of a phone number—so, for example, if you have a smartphone, entering &quot;1-800-FLOWERS&quot; and pressing the send button should connect you to that business.<br />
<br />
'''Long-distance''' calls are calls to lines outside the &quot;local calling area&quot; of the line from which you are dialing. The long-distance prefix (in some countries called the &quot;trunk&quot; prefix) in the U.S. is &quot;1&quot;, so a long-distance call should be dialed 1-XXX-YYY-ZZZZ. As with local calls, dialing incorrectly will result in an automated message informing you how to properly dial the number. Mobile phones typically do not require you to dial &quot;1&quot; for long-distance. Calls to Canada and certain Caribbean islands can be dialed using &quot;1&quot; as if they were in the U.S., although these will be billed at international rates. As a general rule, calls to Canada are more expensive than U.S. domestic calls, but cheaper than calls to other countries. Calls to other locations require using the international access code (&quot;011&quot;) and the country code of the line you are calling. For example, a call from the United States to the British Museum in London would be dialed as 011-44-20-7323-8000.<br />
<br />
At some locations with internal phone systems (e.g. businesses and hotels), you will need to dial an access code (usually &quot;9&quot; or &quot;8&quot;) to reach an outside line before dialing the number as usual.<br />
<br />
Numbers with the area code 800, 888, 877, 866, or 855 are '''toll free''' within the U.S, meaning that the cost of the call is paid by the recipient. Outside the country, dial 880, 881, 882, and 883 respectively, but these aren't toll free. The area code 900 is used for services with additional charges applied to the call (e.g. &quot;adult entertainment&quot;). This is also true of &quot;local&quot; seven-digit phone numbers starting with 976.<br />
<br />
Most visitor areas and some restaurants and bars have directories with two listings of telephone numbers (often split into two books): the '''white pages''', for an alphabetical listing; and the '''yellow pages''', an advertising-filled listing of business and service establishments by category (e.g. &quot;Taxicabs&quot;). Directory information can also be obtained by dialing '''411''' (for local numbers) or '''1-area&amp;nbsp;code-555-1212''' (for other areas). If 411 doesn't work locally, try 555-1212 or 1-555-1212. Directory information is normally an extra cost call. As an alternative, directory information is available for free via 1-800-Free411, which is ad-supported. Information directories are also available online at each regional telephone company's web site (most often AT&amp;T, Verizon, or CenturyLink; Frontier and FairPoint in some small cities and rural areas), as well as www.free411.com. Although each claims to have all the local phone numbers of the others, using the site of the region you are searching for yields the best results (i.e. AT&amp;T for most of California, Verizon for the Northeast, etc.) Many residential land-line phones and all mobile phones are unlisted.<br />
<br />
Prior to the popularity of personal cell phones, '''pay phones''' were ubiquitous on sidewalks all over the United States, and commonplace in other places such as gas stations. Today, however, many phone companies have removed them or have increased their charges substantially. (Prices are normally 50 cents for the first three minutes, and a quarter for each additional minute.) You will probably have to enter a store or restaurant to find one, though some are against the outer wall of such businesses, usually in front, or near bus stops. Most pay phones are coin operated (quarters, dimes and nickels) and do not accept paper bills. An online directory of pay phones can be found at Pay Phone Directory [http://www.payphone-directory.org/]. <br />
<br />
Long-distance telephone '''calling cards''' are available at most convenience stores. Most calling cards have specific destinations in mind (domestic calls, calls to particular countries), so make sure you get the right card. Some cards may be refilled by phoning a number and giving your Visa/Mastercard number, but often operators refuse foreign cards for this purpose. Moreover, calls may cost more if a payphone or toll-free number is used or if a mobile number is dialed or if more calls are made (rather than few but longer calls). <br />
<br />
====Mobile phones====<br />
<br />
American '''mobile phone service''' (known as ''cell phones'' regardless of the technology used) is not very compatible with that offered elsewhere. While GSM has been gaining in popularity, the U.S. uses the unusual 1900 and 850 MHz frequencies; check with your operator or mobile phone dealer to see if your phone is a '''tri-band''' or '''quad-band''' model that will work here. Roaming fees for foreign mobiles are high and text messages may not always work due to compatibility issues between networks.<br />
<br />
Depending on the length of your trip and the amount of calling you plan on doing, it may be less expensive to obtain an American mobile phone. If you are arriving and departing from the same city, consider that most larger airports will have a boutique that rents mobile phones (rates start around $3/day). Alternatively, prepaid phones and top-up cards can be purchased at mobile phone boutiques and at many discount, electronics, office supply and convenience stores. A very basic mobile handset and credit for an hour or two's worth of calls can be had for under $40, though be aware that international calling will, if it is in fact available, use up those credits ''much'' more quickly than a domestic call. It is possible to purchase a prepaid SIM card for an unlocked mobile, although these are not nearly as common in the United States as in other countries so you will probably have to purchase it from a GSM provider's boutique. The two major GSM providers in the U.S. are AT&amp;T and T-Mobile, which operate boutiques in most, if not all, metropolitan areas and offer pre-paid service. Other providers of mobile phone service include Verizon, TracFone, Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and various regional operators.<br />
<br />
Unlike in many countries, there is no surcharge for dialing a mobile phone (calls to mobile phones are charged the same as calls to land lines outside your geographic area), but on the other hand mobile phone users are charged for incoming ''and'' outgoing calls and SMS (you won't be able to contact someone who does not have sufficient balance to receive phone calls). Numbers that are toll-free from land lines however are not free when dialed from a mobile phone. Packages as low as $25/month are available to allow you to make hundreds of minutes worth of calls. Take note that a failed attempt at making a call (or a &quot;missed call&quot;) will be deducted from your balance since you are charged from the moment you dial. <br />
<br />
If you are going to be in the United States for a long time, you may wish to consider a long-term service contract. A service contract will give you the best rates on calls, SMS and data, and will also usually include a free or discounted handset. On the other hand, they are almost always two-year agreements with stiff penalties for early cancellation (anywhere from $150 to $350, depending on carrier and phone model), so consider the length of your stay and your needs before signing one.<br />
<br />
===By mail===<br />
[[Image:Diamond Head Waikiki Beach Honolulu Hawaii.jpg|thumb|250px| Diamond Head &amp; Waikiki Beach, [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] ]]<br />
<br />
To send items to any destination within the US by post, the most important item in the addressee's section is the ZIP code (postal code). The website of the United States postal service has a look-up feature that allows you to get a zip code after inputting a city as well as a more precise address. Inputting the more precise address may return a zip code with 9 digits known as ZIP+4. In general the addressee's section in the envelope will look something like the following:<br />
<br />
(name of recipient) &lt;br&gt;<br />
(street address, which contains the house number and street name) &lt;br&gt;<br />
(city or town), (two digit state abbreviation) (ZIP code)<br />
<br />
Given that there are possibly plenty of streets with the same name in a particular metropolitan area, placing the correct ZIP code is crucial to speeding-up delivery of your post.<br />
<br />
First class airmail postcards and letters (if not oversized, or over one ounce/28.5 grams) are $0.85 to Canada and Mexico and $1.05 elsewhere. All locations with a USPS zip code are considered domestic, including [[Alaska]], [[Hawaii]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], [[Guam]], [[American Samoa]], [[Federated States of Micronesia]], [[Marshall Islands]], [[Palau]], U.S. Navy ships at sea, etc. Domestic postcards are $0.32, and small letters up to an ounce are $0.45. If you put a solid object like a coin or keys in an envelope, you'll pay a surcharge. <br />
<br />
A rate increase took effect on January 22, 2012. &quot;Forever&quot; stamps on domestic mail can be used indefinitely with no surcharge after an increase, but these stamps are not valid for international use.<br />
<br />
You can receive mail sent both domestically and from abroad by having it addressed to you as &quot;General Delivery.&quot; In other countries, this is often called ''Poste Restante''. There is no charge for this service. You just go to the main post office, wait in line, and they will give you your mail after showing ID such as a passport. <br />
<br />
John Doe &lt;br&gt;<br />
General Delivery &lt;br&gt;<br />
[[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] 98101-9999 &lt;br&gt;<br />
U.S.A. &lt;br&gt;<br />
<br />
The last four digits of the ZIP (postal) Code for General Delivery is always '9999'. If the city is large enough to have multiple post offices, '''only one''' (usually in the center of downtown) will have the General Delivery service. This means, for example, if you're staying in the Green Lake district of Seattle (a few miles north of downtown), you '''cannot''' receive your mail at the Green Lake Post Office, and must travel downtown to get it. On the other hand, if you're completely outside of the city of Seattle, and in a smaller town with only one post office, you can have it sent there. UPS and FedEx also have a &quot;Hold for Pickup&quot; option.<br />
<br />
===By Internet===<br />
<br />
Most Americans have Internet access, mostly in their homes and offices. Internet cafes, therefore, are ''not'' common outside of major metropolitan, tourist and resort areas. However, you do have some options, except perhaps in the most rural of areas.<br />
<br />
If you bring your own computer:<br />
{{cautionbox|An increasingly common method of identity theft is thieves turning on their computer or cell phone's &quot;mobile hotspot&quot; function in a public area with the expectation that someone will connect to it. This scheme sets up a wifi network&amp;mdash;without a password and sometimes with a deceiving name&amp;mdash; using their laptop/phone as a router to their laptop/phone's internet connection, allowing them to record all information that passes through the connection or even (if they have expert computer skills) gain access to your computer's hard drive. Your best bet is to go into the business to find out what their wifi network is named and always select &quot;public network&quot; if your computer prompts you while connecting (this prevents others on the network from 'seeing' your device and preventing any other device on the network from accessing your device). Make sure your computer has good antivirus protection and a good third-party (not just Windows) firewall as a safety precaution against unauthorized access to your device. Always keep in mind that a public network may have a filter to prevent access to certain sites and some (like libraries) may even monitor your internet usage.}}<br />
* Most public libraries have free wi-fi available even without a library card. In some instances, the wi-fi remains on 24/7, so even if the library is closed, you may be able to sit outside and access the internet in the early morning or on Sunday.<br />
* Chain hotels usually provide in-room Internet connections, sometimes wireless, either included with the price of the room or at an additional charge. Local establishments like bed-and-breakfasts and roadside motels are less likely to have Internet access.<br />
* Many coffee shops, bookstores, and some fast food restaurants provide free wireless Internet access, though you may need to make a purchase first. The list includes major national chains like McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks, and Barnes &amp; Noble.<br />
* Some cities have free WiFi access that spans a central business district (several square miles) or even citywide.<br />
* Many colleges and universities offer free WiFi in their libraries and student centers, but non-students may have trouble accessing the network, or even the buildings. Ask around.<br />
* Airports, even smaller regional ones, usually provide WiFi within passenger terminals, sometimes for a nominal charge.<br />
* There are some paid WiFi chains, where you can receive access to numerous hotspots for a small charge, such as Boingo.<br />
* If driving, in a pinch you can always park in a chain hotel parking lot or near a commercial strip by coffeeshops or libraries, and grab WiFi access from your car. Be sure to check the name of the network&amp;mdash;&quot;Joe's Coffehouse&quot; is likely a public network, &quot;Linksys 10&quot; or &quot;az13t0dug&quot; probably aren't. Using a private network (even if it doesn't have a password) can be risky and in most cases is illegal (again, even if it lacks a password), although enforcement is nearly non-existent. <br />
* You can also purchase a mobile broadband modem which can be attached to your laptop via the USB port and subscribe to a prepaid plan. Service providers include Verizon Wireless and Virgin Mobile (which uses the Sprint network). Make sure to check a coverage map before you buy, each company has large areas with bad or no coverage. Also, these plans are subject to data limits which are easy to exceed unknowingly! Avoid watching videos when using a mobile network.<br />
<br />
If you don't have your own computer:<br />
<br />
{{cautionbox|Some public internet terminals track users' activities and nearly all of them are connected to a filtered internet connection. A filtered internet connection will restrict you from accessing certain sites, such as those with adult content or with security issues. It is best to only use a public computer for basic tasks, such as e-mail and social networking. To ensure your security, do not perform any sensitive tasks, such as online banking, on a public computer unless absolutely necessary. If you are in doubt, bring your own laptop and use a WiFi hotspot instead, as these are generally more secure.}}<br />
* Internet cafes can still be found in some larger cities (e.g. New York and Los Angeles)<br />
* Some locations such as airports and shopping malls have pay-per-use internet access terminals, where 3-5 minutes of web time can be purchased for $1, although these are becoming increasingly rare and typically use older, slower dial-up technology rather than offering broadband speeds.<br />
* Nearly all public libraries have PC terminals with broadband internet access (and usually productivity software such as Microsoft Word) available for free, public use (this is the reason why the U.S. lacks internet cafes!). You may need a library card to access services and persons living outside the area may need to pay a small fee. Time limits are usually 1-2 hours, although you may be able to ask for an extension.<br />
* The best bet for '''computer rental''' is a &quot;photocopy shop&quot; such as FedEx Office [http://www.fedex.com/us/office/indexnew.html] (+1 800 GOFEDEX/+1 800 463 3339; when prompted by the voice menu, say &quot;FedEx Office&quot; or press &quot;64&quot;), which is a national chain. Most FedEx Office stores are open long hours, and at least one store in each metro area is open 24 hours. All stores have several computers with Microsoft Office, Adobe Design Suite, and a selection of Web browsers, and at least one computer always has a scanner attached. <br />
* Some higher-end hotels have &quot;business centers&quot; where you can use a computer connected to the internet, fax a message, use a printer and make copies.<br />
* Electronics stores that sell computers, such as Best Buy or the Apple Store, sometimes allow customers to access the Internet from the computers on sale on the floor for at least a short while; this is generally a courtesy, and you should not depend on it for regular usage, but it sometimes makes for a convenient option. The Apple Store is particularly generous with their policy, and will not ask you to leave if you come just to access the Internet, however, note that some websites, such as Facebook, are blocked.<br />
* Another, albeit less likely, possibility is a university library. Private universities in larger cities tend to restrict entry to the library building itself to enrolled students and faculty. Public university libraries are generally required by law to be open to the public (at least as far as books go), but almost invariably a student login is required to access computer terminals. Public university libraries sometimes have one or two computer terminals set up for visitor use, but its always best to call ahead to be certain first.<br />
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[[wts:Category:United States]]</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Sarasota&diff=1935500Sarasota2012-09-28T23:38:12Z<p>AHeneen: Reverted edits by 108.70.100.58 (Talk) to last version by IBcash</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Sarasota''' [http://www.sarasotagov.com/] is a popular city on the Gulf Coast of [[Southwest Florida]] and the county seat of [[Sarasota County]]. It is known for its vibrant arts community, excellent restaurants, unique shopping, and beautiful beaches. Sarasota, although a mid-sized city, is considered to be the cultural center of West Central Florida. The city has a metropolitan flavor unique to cities of its size and to cities in Florida.<br />
<br />
==Understand==<br />
<br />
The Asolo Theater, Florida West Coast Symphony, Sarasota Opera, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, and frequent art shows add the the cultural theme of the city, rivaling the facilities of Florida's largest cities. Sarasota is also home to the Ringling Museum of Art, the Selby Botanical Gardens, New College (Florida's public honors college), a USF branch, and the Ringling School of Art and Design.<br />
<br />
Sarasota's downtown comprises a true urban cityscape with offices and several upscale downtown condominiums. It is complemented by '''Saint Armands Circle''', on Saint Armands Key, which is surrounded by Lido Key, across Sarasota Bay from downtown via the Ringling Causeway (with sweeping views of Sarasota Bay.) Saint Armands Circle is an upscale outdoor shopping area, with several cafes, reminiscent of Europe. The idea for Saint Armands was from John Ringling who also intended to build a Ritz hotel on Longboat Key. Today, Sarasota has a Ritz hotel downtown as well as the Longboat Key Club on Ringling's original site. The Longboat Key Club includes two golf courses, tennis, and all other resort facilities and is located just north of Saint Armands on Longboat Key.<br />
<br />
The beaches are a major draw to the area. Siesta Key Beach is consistently ranked among the most beautiful beaches on Earth. (Siesta Key was also the site chosen for the marriage of Chrissy and Brian, of Home Today fame.) Crescent Beach, Turtle Beach, Lido Beach, and the beach running the 15 mile span of Longboat Key are equally beautiful and accessible. Indeed, much of Sarasota's charm comes from the fact that the beaches are so plentiful and accessible. <br />
<br />
Sarasota beaches are the Winner of the &quot;Worlds finest, whitest sand,&quot;<br />
<br />
==Get in==<br />
<br />
===By plane===<br />
*'''Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport (SRQ)''', 6000 Airport Circle, 941-359-2777, [http://www.srq-airport.com/]. Located on the border between Sarasota and Manatee counties.<br />
<br />
===By car===<br />
<br />
*Sarasota has one primary expressway, '''Interstate 75''', which runs north to south.<br />
*The major roads within Sarasota include the '''Tamiami Trail''' (which is the name given to US 41 between Tampa and Miami), '''US Route 301''', Beneva Rd., Tuttle Ave/Swift Rd., Honore Avenue and Cattleman Rd., all running north-to-south, and Clark Rd., Proctor Rd., Bee Ridge Rd., Fruitville Rd. and University Pkwy., all running east-to-west.<br />
<br />
==Get around==<br />
The city includes the mainland downtown as well as three islands, called &quot;keys.&quot; These are Longboat Key, Lido Key, and Siesta Key. Causeways to all these keys are free and very picturesque. Downtown Sarasota is very vibrant with a healthy mix of businesses, residences, and restaurants, as well as city services.<br />
<br />
==See==<br />
*'''Sarasota Jungle Gardens''', 3701 Bay Shore Road, Phone: 941-355-5305, [http://www.sarasotajunglegardens.com]. Daily 9AM-5PM. There are 5 shows at the gardens in addition to the grounds themselves which are filled with many interesting plants. As with most early attractions, they offer some animal shows and a chance to see some rare plants, many of which are of extraordinary size. This attraction is a rare opportunity to see what Florida was like in the tourist boom of the early 1900's. <br />
*'''The Ringling Estate''', 5401 Bay Shore Road, Phone: 941-359-5700, [http://www.ringling.org]. Daily 10AM-5:30PM. The Ringling Estate has recently finished a six-year restoration and expansion phase that restored all of the existing buildings and added four new buildings to the estate. Features of the 66-acre estate include the lush grounds and landscaping including Mable’s Rose Garden, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Circus Museum, the Cà d’Zan Mansion, the Tibbals Learning Center, and the Historic Asolo Theater located in the Visitor’s Pavilion. <br />
**'''The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art''', [http://www.ringling.org/museum_art.asp]. The Museum of Art, built by John Ringling to house his personal collection of masterpieces, today features the great Old Masters including Rubens, van Dyck, Velàzquez, Titian, Tintoretto, Vernonese, El Greco, Gainsborough and more. Opened in October 1931, the Museum recently opened the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing in 2007, adding an additional 30,000 square feet of exhibition space. The Museum’s 21 galleries feature internationally renowned European, American and Asian art with masterpieces from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The Courtyard of the Museum of Art features casts of original statues including the towering David by Michelangelo. The Courtyard features two fountains - Fountain of Tortoises, one of three replicas from the Piazza Mattei in Rome, and the Oceanus Fountain, copied from the 16th century original by Giovanni Bologna in Florence’s Boboli Gardens. <br />
**'''Circus Museum''', [http://www.ringling.org/circus_museum.asp]. Established in 1948, the Ringling Museum of the American Circus was the first museum of its kind to document the rich history of the circus. The Museum has a fine collection including rare handbills, posters and art prints, circus paper, business records, wardrobe, performing props, as well as all types of circus equipment, including beautifully carved parade wagons. Located in the Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center, The Howard Bros. Circus Model is a replica of Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey Circus from 1919 – 1938. Complete with eight main tents, 152 wagons, 1,300 circus performers and workers, more than 800 animals and a 59-car train, the model is built in ¾-inch-to-the-foot scale replica and occupies 3,800 square feet. <br />
**'''Cà d’Zan''', [http://www.ringling.org/ca_mansion.asp]. The Ringlings' dazzling palatial mansion is a tribute to the American Dream and reflects the splendor and romance of Italy. Described as “the last of the Gilded Age mansions” to be built in America, Cà d’Zan has 56 incredible rooms filled with art and original furnishings. With its Venetian Gothic architecture, the mansion is a combination of the grandeur of Venice’s Doge’s Palace, combined with the gothic grace of Cà d’Oro and Sarasota Bay serves as the Grand Canal.<br />
<br />
*'''Museum Of Asian Art''' [http://www.museumasianart.com/]. The 19th century travel photograph provides a singular historical record, cataloguing not only cultures and landscapes that have been radically altered by development and modernization, but also witnessing the immense creative effort of these early expeditionary and travel photographers. The images attest to the remarkable technical skills they formulated, coercing the nascent medium to fit their needs--whether braving the heat of the desert plains, the humidity of the tropical rain forest, or the bitter cold of the world's highest mountains. These artists also helped to generate the aesthetic standard in a world that had never before known photographs. Untethered by convention, they were free to develop their own vision, bound only by the dimensions of their camera's negative. Viewing these images now, we are privileged to experience through their eyes some of those magical initial moments when West encountered East. By producing images of uncommon beauty and depicting what was foreign with pathos, these photographers elevated what could have been a mundane record to an enduring artistic accomplishment. In their photographs, the incidental becomes consequential; and the commonplace, significant. And where we might have seen caricature, instead an individual meets our eye. These exceptional artists traveled to the other side of the globe in search of the unique. The grace with which they photographed allows us to appreciate the universal as well: the connections between people, between cultures and across time.<br />
<br />
*'''The Historic Asolo Theater''', [http://www.ringling.org/theater.asp ]. An 18th-century treasure in a 21st-century venue, the Historic Asolo Theater is a work of art in its own right. The palace playhouse was created in Asolo, Italy to honor the 15th-century exiled Queen of Cyprus. In the late 1940s, the theater was brought to the Ringling Estate and served as the first stage for many of the community’s most recognized performance organizations. Today the theater features a diverse performance schedule including theatre, dance, film, music, and lectures.<br />
*'''Sarasota Classic Car Museum''', 5500 North Tamiami Trail, Phone: 941-355-6228, [http://www.sarasotacarmuseum.org/]. Daily 9AM-6PM. Adults $9.50, Seniors $7.65, ages 13-17 $5.75, ages 6-12 $4.<br />
*'''The Mote Marine Lab Aquarium''', Ken Thompson Pkwy, Phone: 941-388-4441, ext. 348, [http://www.mote.org/index.php?submenu=Aquarium&amp;src=gendocs&amp;link=Aquarium&amp;category=Aquarium]. Daily 10AM-5PM. Adults $15, ages 4-12 $10.<br />
*'''Marie Selby Botanical Gardens''', 811 South Palm Avenue, Phone: 941-366-5731, [http://www.selby.org/]. Daily 10AM-5PM. Adults $12, Children 6-11 $6.<br />
*'''Art Center Sarasota''', 707 N Tamiami Trail, Phone: 941-365-2032, [http://www.artsarasota.org/]. Tu-Sa 10AM-4PM. Usually, 2 or 3 art exhibitions going on concurrently. Some pieces in gallery available for sale. Free, $3 Donation Requested.<br />
<br />
==Do==<br />
<br />
*'''Siesta Key Beach'''. Siesta Key Beach is among the first and foremost reasons for many visitors to come to Sarasota. The sand, which is 99% pure crystal quartz, is often cited as being the cleanest, whitest sand in the world. With an athletic area equipped with vollyball courts, a cookout area complete with grills (bring your own charcoal), and life guards on duty all day, Siesta Key Beach is a great place for families and spring breakers alike. On Sundays at sundown, there is a tourist-heavy drum circle where local hippies play and everyone dances.<br />
<br />
*'''Historic Spanish Point''', 337 N. Tamiami Trail. Visit Historic Spanish Point and experience the past 5,000 years of history in Southwest Florida. Open to the general public from M-Sa, 9AM-5PM; Su noon to 5PM. Exhibits range from learning about the Florida Environment, Southwest Florida’s Maritime Heritage, Pioneer Homesteaders, Archaeology and the Bertha Palmer time period of growth in Southwest Florida. The 30 acres of land used as Historic Spanish Point was once the winter estate of Mrs. Palmer. Adults $7, ages 6-12 $3, and under 6 free. <br />
<br />
*'''Ed Smith Stadium''', 2700 12th Street. The spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles. If you are in the Venice area between February and March, catch a preseason game for between $5 and $12. Bring the entire family for an evening of baseball.<br />
<br />
*'''Great World Way''' (Nature Tours), 8374 Market Street, Lakewood Ranch, Phone: ''+1 941'' 650-1820, [http://www.greatworldway.com] Beyond the beaches, but within easy driving distance of downtown Sarasota, is a vast wilderness area of more than 100,000 acres. The backbone of this wilderness is the 66 mile long Myakka River. Within it's watershed are hundreds of miles of trails. You can access this wilderness via horseback, mountain bike, canoe/kayak, and on foot accompanied by a state-certified Master Naturalist.<br />
<br />
*'''South Florida Museum and Parker Manatee Aquarium''', 201 10th Street West, [[Bradenton]], Phone: 941-746-4131, [http://www.southfloridamuseum.org/]. Open Jan-Apr and July M-Sa 10AM-5PM; Sun noon-5PM. Rest of the year Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM; Su noon-5PM. Home of the oldest manatee born in captivity and other wonderful aquatic animals and also includes a Native American collection and a Spanish courtyard containing replicas of 16th-century buildings. This is a great place to spend the day with the entire family. From U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail) take Manatee Av. west to 10th St. W. and turn right. Admission is $9.50 adults, $7.50 seniors, $6 students with ID, $5 children 5-12, free for children 4 and under.<br />
<br />
*'''Marina Jack''', Bayfront Dr. ''Marina Plaza on the waterfront'', Phone:(941) 365-4232. Keep your feet on the land while dining at the Marina Jack Restaurant or take off for an evening around Sarasota Bay on the Marina Jack Dinner Boat. Located on Sarasota Bay, the restaurant offers theatre seating so that everyone can enjoy a view of the waterfront. There is also the Portside Patio Bar for light meals or a drink before dinner. The Dinner Boat is an hour and a half lunch cruise or a two-hour dinner cruise. Plenty of temporarily marina slips available.<br />
<br />
==Buy==<br />
*'''Historic Palm Avenue'''. Downtown Sarasota's &quot;Best Walk in Town&quot;. Located one block from Sarasota's Bayfront, aptly poised between the Ritz Carlton and Selby Gardens. Stroll the Galleries, Restaurants, Antique and Specialty Shops. &quot;Palm Avenue's First Friday Art Walks&quot; are held the first Friday of every month from 6PM-9PM. Enjoy gallery openings, live performances and hors d'oeuvres as Palm Avenue Merchants serenade the Avenue and its guests.<br />
<br />
*'''St. Armands Circle'''. Removed from the intensity of downtown Sarasota, St. Armands Circle has an unbelievable selection of original shops, galleries and restaurants. Designed in a charming circular pattern amongst a flourishing landscape, this makes for a breathtaking shopping or afternoon strolling or evening dining experience. Take Tamiami Trail (US 41) to SR 780 W to St. Armands Key, travel over the Ringling Causeway and Sarasota Bay and you will run right into lovely St. Armands Circle.<br />
<br />
*'''Westfield Sarasota Square''' (Formerly Sarasota Square Mall)<br />
*'''Westfield Shoppingtown Southgate''' (Formerly Southgate Mall). an upscale mall with a Saks, Macys, and Dillards.<br />
*'''Sarasota Pavilion'''<br />
*'''The Landings Shopping Center'''<br />
<br />
Main Street in downtown also has several shops.<br />
*&lt;buy name=&quot;A. Parker's Books, Inc., ABAA&quot; alt=&quot;also, Book Bazaar, Inc.&quot; address=&quot;1488 Main Street, Sarasota, FL 34236&quot; directions=&quot;One storefront west of SW corner of Main Street and Lemon Avenue&quot; phone=&quot;941-366-2898&quot; url=&quot;www.aparkers.com&quot; hours=&quot;10-5 Mon-Sat; Rare Bookroom Open by Chance or Appointment; Sundays by Chance or Appointment&quot; price=&quot;Free Browsing&quot; lat=&quot;27.336220000&quot; long=&quot;-82.540884000&quot;&gt;Incorporated in 1980, A. Parker's Books has been located in downtown Sarasota, Florida for over thirty years. They have consistently offered one of the finest selections of rare and antiquarian books in the Southeast and provide Library Design and Collection Development among their services. Their knowledgeable staff and their high level of integrity are demonstrated and monitored by their professional memberships in the Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association (FABA), Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). More than a decade ago, they merged their stock with a neighboring bookstore, Book Bazaar, Inc. Their Sarasota storefront has since housed two distinct shops; A. Parker's Books, Inc., continues to specialize in antiquarian, rare and finely bound books and maintains a rare book room which is the highlight of many visits to the store, while Book Bazaar, Inc., fills the majority of the space with an array of used, out-of-print and scholarly books.&lt;/buy&gt;<br />
<br />
<br />
==Eat==<br />
*'''The Breakfast House''', 1817 Fruitville Road, Phone: 941-366-6860. Breakfast and lunch.<br />
*'''Cafe Amici''', 1371 Main St, Phone: 941-951-6896.<br />
*'''Cafe Epicure''', 1298 N Palm Ave, Phone: 941-366-5648. Italian upscale casual.<br />
*'''Caragiulos''', 69 S Palm Ave, Phone: 941-951-0866 [http://www.italiansoulfood.com]. One of Sarasota's best-known Italian-American restaurants.<br />
*'''Columbia Restaurant''', 411 St. Armands Circle, Phone: 941-388-3987. Cuban-American food.<br />
*'''DaRuMa Restaurant''', 5459 Fruitville Road, phone (941) 342-6600 [http://www.darumarestaurant.com/]. Japanese steakhouse and seafood <br />
*'''Empress Garden Chinese Restaurant''', 6090 N Lockwood Ridge Rd, Phone: 941-359-3658.<br />
*'''Esca''', 1888 Main St, Phone: 941-365-3722, Mediterranean Fusion Cuisine, Nightly Enterainment, Outdoor dining, Upstairs Bar &amp; Balcony, Late-Nite Bar Menu, [http://www.escasrq.com/].<br />
*'''Main Street Bar and Sandwich Shop''', 1944 Main Street, Phone: 941-955-8733.<br />
*'''Mattison's City Grill''', 1 North Lemon Avenue, Phone: 941-330-0440. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. An open-air but covered restaurant and bar with live music, on the corner of Main and Lemon downtown.<br />
*&lt;drink name=&quot;Miguel's Restaurant&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;6631 Midnight Pass Rd.&quot; directions=&quot;On Midnight Pass Rd. 1/4 mile south of Stickney Point Rd.&quot; phone=&quot;941-349-4024&quot; url=&quot;http://wwww.miguelsrestaurant.net&quot; hours=&quot;open at 5PM&quot; price=&quot;&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Quaint French Continental cuisine at the south end of Siesta Key. Wonderful food, full bar and early bird specials.&lt;/drink&gt;<br />
*'''Sarasota Alehouse''', 3800 Kenny Dr, Phone: 941-378-8888.<br />
*'''Savory Street Cafe''', 411 N. Orange Avenue, Phone: 941-312-4027 [http://thesavorystreet.com/]. Coffee &amp; pastries, breakfast, sandwiches and salads for lunch.<br />
*'''Stonewood Grill &amp; Tavern''', 1894 Stickney Point Rd., Phone: 941-927-3969. Fine dining.<br />
*'''Stoneybrook Golf and Country Club''', 8801 Stoneybrook Blvd, Phone: (941) 918-9595, lunch and dinner.<br />
*'''Sugar and Spice''', 4000 Cattlemen Road, Phone: 941-342-1649.<br />
*'''The Table''', 1934 Hillview St, Phone: 941-365-4558.<br />
*'''Tasty Home Cookin'''', 3854 S Tuttle Ave, 941-921-4969.<br />
*'''Yoder's Restaurant''', 3434 Bahia Vista St, Phone: 941-955-7771. Nationally-known Amish restaurant.<br />
*&lt;eat name=&quot;Shakespeare's English Pub&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;3550 S. Osprey Ave&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;941-364-5938&quot; url=&quot;http://shakespearespubsarasota.com‎&quot; hours=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Gourmet burgers and other typical pub food. 80 beers from around the world.&lt;/eat&gt;<br />
<br />
==Drink==<br />
<br />
* '''8-ball lounge''' 3527 Weber St, phone: (941) 922-8314<br />
<br />
* '''Cha Cha Coconuts Tropical Bar''' 417 st Armands Circle, Phone: (941) 388-3300<br />
<br />
* '''Gator Club''', 1490 Main St, Phone: 941-366-5969, [http://www.thegatorclub.com/]. Popular bar and nightclub with entertainment nightly.<br />
<br />
* '''G Spot Bar''', 6582 Gateway Avenue, Phone: 941-922-7768, [http://www.gspotbar.net/]<br />
<br />
* '''Cock &amp; Bull Pub''', 975 Cattlemen Road (between Bahia Vista &amp; Palmer), America's #6 Beer Bar. Excellent Pizza! Phone: 941-341-9785, [http://www.sarasotarhythmnbrews.com/the-cock-n-bull/index.htm].<br />
<br />
*'''Urban Reef''' (''formerly known as Esca'') Upstairs Bar &amp; Live Music, 1888 Main St, Phone: 941-365-3722, [http://www.escasrq.com/]. Entertainment every night of the week: Karaoke, DJs, bands, jazz, flamenco, lounge, performers &amp; more. Late nite bar menu.<br />
<br />
==Sleep==<br />
<br />
* '''Comfort Suites''', 8305 Tourist Center Drive, Phone: (941) 360-2626, [http://www.comfortsuites.com/hotel-university_park-florida-FL665]. All-suite hotel with free Wi-Fi available in all rooms as well as public areas.<br />
<br />
* '''Hotel Indigo Sarasota''', 1223 Blvd of the Arts Phone:(941) 487 3800 conveniently located right downtown.<br />
<br />
* '''Hyatt Sarasota''', 1000 Blvd of the Arts Phone: (941) 953 1234. On Sarasota Bay<br />
<br />
* '''La Palme Royale European Style Bed &amp; Breakfast''', 624 South Palm Avenue, Phone 1-866-800-3921 or 941-284-8890. [http://www.lapalmeroyale.com/]. This 1924 historically designated two-story Craftsman style home among oak trees overlooks Sarasota Bay. From your private oasis stroll down Palm Avenue to the art galleries, fine shopping boutiques, superb dining, theater, opera or the famous Burns Court Cinema. A Pet friendly &amp; Gay friendly accommodation in the heart of downtown.<br />
<br />
*&lt;sleep name=&quot;Lido Beach Resort&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;700 Ben Franklin Drive&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;800-441-2113&quot; url=&quot;http://www.lidobeachresort.com&quot; checkin=&quot;&quot; checkout=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Beachfront accommodations.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
* '''Longboat Key Hilton''', 4711 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Phone:(941) 383 2451. In the middle of gorgeous Longboat Key.<br />
<br />
* '''Longboat Key Club''', 301 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Phone:(941) 383 8821. Spanning Longboat Key.<br />
<br />
* '''The Ritz Carlton Sarasota [http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Sarasota/Default.htm]''', 1111 Ritz-Carlton Drive, Phone: (941) 309 2000. Complete with beach club on Lido Key, located on Tamiami Trail.<br />
<br />
* '''Sleep Inn Sarasota''', 900 University Pkwy, Phone: (941) 359-8558, [http://www.sleepinn.com/hotel-sarasota-florida-FL536]. Located across the street from the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, this newly renovated hotel is perfect for corporate, sporting, and event travelers.<br />
<br />
* '''Suburban Extended Stay''', 7251 North Tamiami Trail, Phone: (941) 355-7747, [http://www.suburbanhotels.com/hotel-sarasota-florida-FL958]. Well-equipped kitchens and free wireless internet in all rooms.<br />
<br />
*&lt;sleep name=&quot;Lido Islander&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;528 South Polk Drive&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;941-388-1004&quot; url=&quot;http://www.Lidoislander.com&quot; checkin=&quot;3:00PM&quot; checkout=&quot;11:00PM&quot; price=&quot;$50&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Amid a tropical garden, the units are steps from Lido beach, with the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico just beyond. Quiet side roads and boulevards are perfect for a morning jog or a casual stroll to nearby St. The units are completely furnished and fully equipped. The 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units have full kitchens.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
* '''Holiday Inn Lakewood Ranch''', 6231 Lake Osprey Drive, Phone: 941-782-4400, [http://www.hilr.com/]. Luxurious accommodations in a boutique setting. <br />
<br />
* &lt;sleep name=&quot;Hilton Garden Inn&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;8270 N. Tamiami Trail&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1-941-552-1100&quot; email=&quot;&quot; fax=&quot;&quot; url=&quot;http://www.hiltongardensarasota.com&quot; checkin=&quot;&quot; checkout=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;&quot;&gt; Centrally located in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, this hotel is within less than 1 mile from Ringling Museum along Sarasota Bay. This hotel offers free shuttle transportation to Downtown Sarasota Historic District and anywhere else within five miles of the property.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
*&lt;sleep name=&quot;Hyatt Place&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;950 University Parkway&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;941-554-5800&quot; url=&quot;http://www.sarasotabradenton.place.hyatt.com&quot; checkin=&quot;3PM&quot; checkout=&quot;noon&quot; price=&quot;$89-199&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt;Hotel offers free continental breakfast, 24 hour food service with full bar, free wi-fi internet, free parking and free shuttle service to SRQ airport and downtown.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
*&lt;sleep name=&quot;Hotel Ranola&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;118 Indian Place #6&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;941.951.0111&quot; url=&quot;http://www.hotelranola.com&quot; checkin=&quot;&quot; checkout=&quot;&quot; price=&quot;&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot;&gt; Originally built in 1926 as an apartment hotel, it offered snowbirds an escape from harsh Northern winters. Ranola has now been revived as a small hip boutique hotel with 9 units.&lt;/sleep&gt;<br />
<br />
==Stay Safe== <br />
<br />
Sarasota is a rather safe city, although regular precautions should be taken just to be safe. The only real place a tourist should avoid is Newtown. Located right near downtown, Newtown is a small neighborhood notorious for drug related crime. Sarasota gained world-wide attention in 2011 when two British tourists were murdered in Newtown. <br />
<br />
Newtown is rather small and is normally fine to drive through during the day. However vigilance is required if traveling through Newtown at night, it is strongly advised to not go near Newtown at night while on foot and in a car the doors should remain locked.<br />
<br />
==Get out==<br />
<br />
{{routebox-1<br />
| image1=I-75 shield.png<br />
| imagesize1=22<br />
| directionl1=N<br />
| majorl1=[[Tampa]]<br />
| minorl1=[[Bradenton]]<br />
| directionr1=S<br />
| majorr1=[[Miami]]<br />
| minorr1=[[Port Charlotte]]<br />
<br />
| image2=US 41.png<br />
| imagesize2=22<br />
| directionl2=N<br />
| majorl2=[[Tampa]]<br />
| minorl2=[[Bradenton]]<br />
| directionr2=S<br />
| majorr2=[[Miami]]<br />
| minorr2=[[Port Charlotte]]<br />
<br />
| image3=Florida 789.png<br />
| imagesize3=22<br />
| directionl3=N<br />
| majorl3=[[Anna Maria Island]]<br />
| minorl3=[[Longboat Key]]<br />
| directionr3=S<br />
| majorr3=END<br />
| minorr3=<br />
}}<br />
<br />
*[[Tampa]] and [[Saint Petersburg (Florida)|St. Petersburg]] are an easy drive North via I-75 and the Sunshine Skyway. Professional Football, baseball, NHL, and most other sports venues can be found there. Tampa also has more shopping at International Plaza and Westshore malls. Ybor City and the University of South Florida are also in Tampa, as is a Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) and Busch Gardens. <br />
<br />
*[[Disney World]]<br />
<br />
{{usablecity}}<br />
{{isPartOf|Sarasota County}}<br />
{{cityguide}}<br />
<br />
[[Wikipedia:Sarasota, Florida]]</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=User_talk:MVGreenland&diff=1935090User talk:MVGreenland2012-09-28T04:39:47Z<p>AHeneen: Nice work!</p>
<hr />
<div>Hello! [[Wikitravel:Welcome, newcomers|Welcome]] to [[Wikitravel:About|Wikitravel]].<br />
To help get you started contributing, we've created a [[Wikitravel:Tips for new contributors|tips for new contributors]] page, full of helpful links about [[Wikitravel:policies and guidelines|policies and guidelines]] and [[Wikitravel:Manual of style|style]] as well as some important information on [[Wikitravel:copyleft|copyleft]] and basic stuff like [[Wikitravel:How to edit a page|how to edit a page]].<br />
If you need help, check out [[Wikitravel:Help]], or post a message in the [[Wikitravel:travellers' pub|travellers' pub]]. [[User:IBobi|IBobi]] [[User talk:IBobi|talk]] [[Special:EmailUser/IBobi|email]] 12:45, 27 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
Hi MVGreenland! Thank you for your recent contributions. Please review the [[Wikitravel:policies and guidelines|policies and guidelines]] to make sure your edits satisfy them. Your recent edits in the [[Wikitravel: Nuuk|Nuuk]] page, for example, do not comply with these guidelines. You should add a sentence or two to each listing to give more information to the readers about why you are recommending that place. You should also include the price for each one. Please make these edits to your post or they will have to be reverted. Thank you! [[User:IBobi|IBobi]] [[User talk:IBobi|talk]] [[Special:EmailUser/IBobi|email]] 13:46, 28 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==Nice work!==<br />
Thanks for all your helpful contributions to Greenland pages!! If you are the same person who has uploaded the images to Wikitravel ''Shared'' that you have been adding to the Greenland pages, please make sure you are adding the correct license. For example, [http://wikitravel.org/shared/File:Narsaq_summer.jpeg Narsaq summer] was uploaded with a ''Creative Commons License, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5'' license on Wikitravel Shared, but the same image has a ''Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic'' license [http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilovegreenland/4929428799/ on flickr]&amp;mdash;a minor, but meaningful, difference. [[User:AHeneen|AHeneen]] 00:39, 28 September 2012 (EDT)</div>AHeneenhttps://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Wikitravel:Travellers%27_pub&diff=1935080Wikitravel:Travellers' pub2012-09-28T04:25:04Z<p>AHeneen: /* MVGreenland */ OK in my view...picture licensing needs to be checked on WT Shared</p>
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<div>&lt;div&gt;__TOC__&lt;/div&gt; <br />
&lt;div&gt;__TOC__&lt;/div&gt; <br />
__NEWSECTIONLINK__ &lt;!-- generates a &quot;+&quot;-Tab so we can easily add a new topic --&gt; <br />
<br />
The '''Travellers' pub''' is the place to ask questions when you're confused, lost, afraid, tired, annoyed, thoughtful, or helpful. Please check the [[Wikitravel:FAQ|FAQ]] and [[Wikitravel:Help|Help]] page before asking a question, though, since that may save your time and others'. <br />
<br />
Please add new questions '''at the bottom''' of the page and sign your post by appending four tildes (&lt;nowiki&gt;~~~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;) to it, but otherwise [[Wikitravel:plunge forward|plunge forward]]!<br />
<br />
{{disclaimerbox|If you have a question or suggestion about a particular article, try [[Wikitravel:using talk pages|using talk pages]] to keep the discussion specific to that article.<br />
<br />
If you are having a problem that you think has to do with the [http://wikipedia.sourceforge.net/ Mediawiki software], please post that on the [[:shared:Wikitravel Shared:Technical requests|Technical requests]] page on [[:shared:Main Page|Wikitravel Shared]] instead.<br />
<br />
If you want to celebrate a significant contribution to Wikitravel by yourself or others, [[Wikitravel:Celebrate a contribution]] may be the place you are looking for.<br />
<br />
}}<br />
<br />
&lt;big&gt;'''Please sweep the pub'''&lt;/big&gt;<br />
<br />
Keeping the Pub clean is a group effort. If we have too many conversations on this page, it will get too noisy and hard to read. If you see an old conversation (i.e. '''three months''' after the last comment in that discussion) that could or should be moved to a [[Wikitravel:using talk pages|talk page]], please do so, and note there that it has been swept in from the pub.<br />
<br />
* A question regarding a destination article should be swept to the article discussion page<br />
* A discussion regarding a policy or the subject of an expedition can be swept to the policy or expedition discussion page<br />
* A simple question asked by a user can be swept to that user's talk page, but consider if the documentation needs a quick update to make it clearer for the next user with the same question.<br />
* A pointer to a discussion going on elsewhere, such as a notice of a star nomination or or a request to comment on another talk page, can be removed when it is two months old. Any discussion that occurred in the pub can be swept to to where the main discussion took place.<br />
<br />
Any discussions that do not fall into any of these categories, and are not of any special importance for posterity, should be archived to '''[[Wikitravel:Travellers' pub/Archives]]''' and removed from here. If you are not sure where to put a discussion, let it be—better to spend your efforts on those that you do know where to place.<br />
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{{WikitravelDoc|collaboration}}<br />
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[[ca:Wikitravel:Bar dels viatgers]]<br />
[[de:Wikitravel:Stammtisch]]<br />
[[eo:Wikitravel:Vojaĝista drinkejo]]<br />
[[es:Wikitravel:Bar de los viajeros]]<br />
[[fi:Wikitravel:Kestikievari]]<br />
[[fr:Wikitravel:Café des Voyageurs]]<br />
[[he:ויקיטיול:דלפק ייעוץ]]<br />
[[hi:विकिट्रैवल:यात्री भवन]]<br />
[[hu:Wikitravel:Kocsmafal]]<br />
[[it:Wikitravel:Bar dei viaggiatori]]<br />
[[ja:Wikitravel:旅人の居酒屋]]<br />
[[ko:Wikitravel:Travellers' pub]]<br />
[[nl:Wikitravel:Reizigerscafé]]<br />
[[pl:Wikitravel:Pub podróżnika]]<br />
[[pt:Wikitravel:Bar dos viajantes]]<br />
[[ro:Wikitravel:Hanul călătorilor]]<br />
[[ru:Wikitravel:Пивная путешественников]]<br />
[[sv:Wikitravel:Resenärspuben]]<br />
[[zh:Wikitravel:旅行者茶馆]]<br />
[[wts:Wikitravel Shared:Travellers' pub]]<br />
----<br />
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<br />
== Templated See and Do listings ==<br />
<br />
Hi there. I'm only a new 'WikiTraveler', but am a seasoned Wiki-editor with many years experience. I am hoping to make some big contributions to this site, but something has been bugging me lately. I find that the See and Do listings on some articles can get very messy and disorganised. I think if we were to organise this information into a template/table, this would be much better for viewers to decipher information from, and also improve the quality of our articles.<br />
<br />
This has been proposed many years ago at [[Wikitravel_talk:Attraction_listings]], but with little discussion or progress. It seems many other language WikiTravels do it. [http://wikitravel.org/ja/%E3%83%AB%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%91%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3#.E8.A6.B3.E3.82.8B See here] for a Japanese example. I understand we use WikiCode tags, and it could take a long time to convert ''every'' article to a template format. One option is to keep the WikiCode we use, but change how the system organises the info within the tags; from a jumbled text wall, to an organised table format. This would allow for a total revamp across the board, yet with minimal effort.<br />
<br />
Any other thoughts, ideas or comments? Thanks, [[User:JamesA|JamesA]] 08:56, 11 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: One of the reasons the wikicode tags were used was to add the &quot;edit&quot; links to make it easier for non-technical contributors to add and edit listings. As far as I'm aware there would be no way to achieve similar functionality using templates. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 10:30, 11 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:: Maybe this is just me... I feel like the Japanese presentation is a bit over the top, but I'd be quite happy just to add a bit more formatting to the current presentation. Just a bit of italics here and there, that kind of stuff. Most English-language print guidebooks do this, and I think it aids readability and makes it easy to spot when a listing is missing a piece of info. --[[User:BigPeteB|BigPeteB]] 14:18, 11 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
:::Our listings already use bold and italics. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 18:50, 11 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
::::We do have a great system for adding listings. This system can easily be kept. What would be changed is where that information goes. There has to be a page somewhere (probably a MediaWiki: page) that organises the listing into the format it currently is, with the bold font, italics, etc. From a glance at this page, it seems [[User:IBobi]] handles the wiki's technical stuff, so maybe he would know how to change it.<br />
::::The Japanese format does take it a step overboard with all the colours and pictures. We could always have a much more toned down version. I just feel the way it is now is really messy. Look at the opening times on the [[Dhaka#Buildings|first listing here]]; it's all over the place. A possibility could be just to add more bold/italics/underlines, or even put some information on separate lines or dot points. Does anyone want to have a go at fixing it up? &lt;big&gt;[[User:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#4682b4&quot;&gt;&lt;big&gt;J&lt;/big&gt;ames'''&lt;small&gt;A&lt;/small&gt;'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/big&gt; &lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#191970&quot;&gt;'''&gt;talk'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt; 04:28, 12 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::: Yes, I know they already use some bold and italics... I was saying I think they could use a little more. --[[User:BigPeteB|BigPeteB]] 10:15, 18 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::Well, to be honest, I wouldn't know how to change them. But a good start would be creating a mockup. [[Wikitravel talk:Listings]] would be a good place to discuss the mockup once you create one. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 19:26, 18 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::I certainly wouldn't want to see the listings become as colorful and complex as the ones on the Japanese site and I like the tag system we have now, but I think some minor tweaking couldn't hurt - putting the opening hours and the price info in italics, to further distinguish them from the description of the place, would really tidy up the presentation (whether this can actually be done I don't know, but I'm just throwing that out there). I really wouldn't want to see any more bolded text in the listings - as of now only the '''name''' of the place is bolded, and I like that because it highlights it and makes it easier on the eye when you're scanning an article looking for a specific listing. [[User:PerryPlanet|PerryPlanet]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:PerryPlanet|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 10:31, 19 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::We could make the phone number blink! [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 13:35, 19 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
Moving the hours to a separate line could be really useful. I think we could make them more readable:<br />
<br />
Current version:<br />
* &lt;see name=&quot;International Spy Museum&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; address=&quot;800 F St NW&quot; directions=&quot;&quot; phone=&quot;+1 202 393-7798&quot; url=&quot;http://spymuseum.org/index.php&quot; hours=&quot;9AM-5PM or 9AM-6PM daily, last admission one hour before close&quot; price=&quot;Adults: $20, seniors: $15, children (5-11): $15, 4 &amp;amp; under: Free&quot; lat=&quot;&quot; long=&quot;&quot; email=&quot;&quot; fax=&quot;&quot;&gt;D.C.'s newest hot attraction's principal claim to fame among locals is the extraordinarily long line that usually winds out the doors (not to mention the high price tag). Its popularity, while a bit disproportionate given all the other great free museums in town, is not unwarranted—its exhibits are interesting to anyone even marginally interested in espionage and Cold War history, and it also has a great exhibit tailored specifically to kids.&lt;/see&gt;<br />
<br />
Another idea:<br />
*'''International Spy Museum''', 800 F St NW, ☎ +1 202 393-7798, [http://spymuseum.org/index.php 1]. <br />
:''9AM-5PM or 9AM-6PM daily, last admission one hour before close.''<br />
:D.C.'s newest hot attraction's principal claim to fame among locals is the extraordinarily long line that usually winds out the doors (not to mention the high price tag). Its popularity, while a bit disproportionate given all the other great free museums in town, is not unwarranted—its exhibits are interesting to anyone even marginally interested in espionage and Cold War history, and it also has a great exhibit tailored specifically to kids. <br />
:'''Price''': Adults: $20, seniors: $15, children (5-11): $15, 4 &amp; under: Free. <br />
<br />
Good idea to take a fresh look at this. We'll have to wait until we have functional tech support, or the ability to do our own tech support, before we can implement this, but it's good to figure out what we want in the meantime. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 15:55, 19 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:That's great, Peter! The separate lines makes it much easier to read the information, instead of it being a jumbled mess. Most travel guides do organise the info how we do it now, (all in one long spiel, rather than spaced out) but that's just because they need to fit all the info into a specific number of pages. We have much more room than books, so it makes sense that we make use of it and make the info easier to read for viewers. I'll do some perusing and see if I can find out how to edit the backend stuff. &lt;big&gt;[[User:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#4682b4&quot;&gt;&lt;big&gt;J&lt;/big&gt;ames'''&lt;small&gt;A&lt;/small&gt;'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/big&gt; &lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#191970&quot;&gt;'''&gt;talk'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt; 07:05, 21 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Excellent suggestion! [[User:Atsirlin|Atsirlin]] 07:15, 21 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::If anyone wants to have a go searching for how to modify the backend code that configures the layout, [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:Allmessages&amp;ot=html here] may be a good start. That's a list of all the technical MediaWiki pages that can be tweaked. Some pages have the prefix &quot;listing&quot;, which might be somehow relevant. But don't take my word for it; the page we need might not be there. &lt;big&gt;[[User:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#4682b4&quot;&gt;&lt;big&gt;J&lt;/big&gt;ames'''&lt;small&gt;A&lt;/small&gt;'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/big&gt; &lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#191970&quot;&gt;'''&gt;talk'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt; 09:02, 21 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::Keep in mind that, despite the prevalence of mobile options in the modern era, making guides that can be easily and cheaply printed out is still one of our [[Wikitravel:Goals and non-goals|explicit goals]]. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 20:17, 21 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::: It is entirely possible to change the format for a printed guide, much like we do now for URL formatting. --[[User:Inas|Inas]] 20:27, 21 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::Is that feature custom to Wikitravel, or a feature of MediaWiki? [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 13:35, 23 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::: The alternate formatting for printable version is a MediaWiki feature. All it does is use a different (css) stylesheet for formatting. I'm pretty sure MediaWiki allows more of these stylesheets to be configured as preferences too. So in my understanding you could easily have a different style for printing than you have for online display, so we shouldn't let the printing bit constrain our thinking too much. After all, our online display currently has no URLs, so is inherently unsuited for printing. --[[User:Inas|Inas]] 19:29, 23 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::::There's been a week of inactivity, so is everyone content with just implementing Peter's version for the time being? There's no colour or pictures, simply a few extra lines and spaces, and it should be possible to keep the Printable version as-is. After implementation, we can re-discuss if there's any issues. I did a little search around to find the code we need to edit, but it's very complicated. It looks like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax_(programming) Ajax] and CSS were used, which is only editable by site admins/IB. The Listing Editor's code is [http://files.wikitravel.org/mw/skins/common/ListingEditor.js here]. The formatting of the listing is [http://files.wikitravel.org/mw/skins/common/listing.css here]. Original discussion [http://wikitravel.org/shared/Tech:Popup_editing_for_listings_tags here]. While we're at it, we should add the 'email' option to the editor, which has been long missing. I guess we should file a tech-request then? &lt;big&gt;[[User:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#4682b4&quot;&gt;&lt;big&gt;J&lt;/big&gt;ames'''&lt;small&gt;A&lt;/small&gt;'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/big&gt; &lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#191970&quot;&gt;'''&gt;talk'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt; 23:21, 29 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::::Given the complexity of the change and the expansiveness of its effect, I'd prefer to see more discussion before we go making major changes. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 13:35, 30 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
I would also like to see some more discussion on this before making a change. Listings have a variety of completeness and length of information, so depending on what is there, the above proposal could easily produce a very lopsided-looking listing like this:<br />
*'''International Butt Museum''', 800 F St NW, ☎ +1 202 393-7798, butt@buttmuseum.org, [http://buttmuseum.org/index.php 1]. <br />
:''9AM-5PM.''<br />
:Super awesome museum about butts. Great for people who have butts or would like to find out more about butts.<br />
:'''Price''': Free.<br />
<br />
[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 15:16, 3 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Is there a code that we could use that would only implement the multiple-line layout when a certain character/word count is reached? Sounds complicated to implement, though. &lt;big&gt;[[User:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#4682b4&quot;&gt;&lt;big&gt;J&lt;/big&gt;ames'''&lt;small&gt;A&lt;/small&gt;'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/big&gt; &lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#191970&quot;&gt;'''&gt;talk'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt; 05:42, 4 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::That would result in an ugly (I think) situation with listings appearing in a random combination of the two formats. I think we would have to either go whole-hog, as ja: has done, or just leave it alone.[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 12:53, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==www.airport-china.com==<br />
<br />
A lot of links to this site have been posted in articles about various Chinese cities. I doubt this is an official airport site, but I'm not completely certain. If it's not, all such links should be deleted. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] 22:02, 25 May 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:At the bottom of the page of http://www.airport-china.com are various advertising links to hotel booking sites and tour guides, there is also a statement of &quot;Power by Lutu ltd.&quot;, whose own website states that: <br />
<br />
:''Lutu Inc. is the one of the domestic company in China, which fully committed in the business of China Hotel Online Booking Service.''<br />
<br />
:These links coupled with the .com rather than .cn top level domain suggest a commercial, rather than government, site.<br />
:The Civil Aviation Authority of China has a website at http://www.caac.gov.cn/.[[User:Travelpleb|Travelpleb]] 10:57, 3 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Deletion of user and talk pages ==<br />
<br />
Every time I'm monitoring the Recent Changes, I notice new users creating accounts then pasting some huge advertising spiel on their user/user talk pages. I understand advertising is completely disallowed, but are these pages meant to be outright deleted? If so, it may help if we had a template for 'Speedy deletions'. All the pages with the template would be put into a category where admins would just delete them without discussion, as they are blatant breaches of guidelines. [[Template:Vfd]] seems to only cover deletions that require discussion and consensus. I'll go ahead and create the template in the few days, if there are no objections, but wanted to also notify admins of the idea. <br />
<br />
On an unrelated sidenote, I think the pub is definitely in need of a sweep of items that are at least 3 months old. Any objections to that? &lt;big&gt;[[User:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#4682b4&quot;&gt;&lt;big&gt;J&lt;/big&gt;ames'''&lt;small&gt;A&lt;/small&gt;'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/big&gt; &lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#191970&quot;&gt;'''&gt;talk'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt;<br />
<br />
:I've created [[Template:Delete]] and [[:Category:Speedy deletion candidates]]. Please add it to your watchlist/userspace, admins, so you can keep an eye on it. :) &lt;big&gt;[[User:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#4682b4&quot;&gt;&lt;big&gt;J&lt;/big&gt;ames'''&lt;small&gt;A&lt;/small&gt;'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/big&gt; &lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#191970&quot;&gt;'''&gt;talk'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt; 08:11, 3 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:: I don't think a separate template is needed as the VFD tag should be sufficient, and if a speedy deletion is warranted the nomination can state as much. However, for spambot-created pages no nomination is needed unless the page is overlooked - per [[Wikitravel:Deletion policy#Speedy deletion]] obvious candidates don't require a nomination as it adds extra overhead for nominating and archiving discussion (''&quot;New pages that are plainly spam and that qualify for speedy deletion will be deleted as soon as they are noticed by an administrator, and therefore do not need to be listed on the votes for deletion page. If such a page remains for more than 24 hours, add it to the nominations page as a way to ensure that it isn't overlooked.&quot;''). -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 13:15, 3 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Yes, such user pages should be deleted, and I delete them whenever I see them. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] 18:20, 3 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
The pub definitely needs more brooms! Please don't simply sweep everything into an archive, though. Discussions should be swept to the most relevant talk page, per the little sweeping guide at the top of this page. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 12:55, 3 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::I didn't think it was necessary to list advertisement articles on the VfD page because, as Ryan said, it would involve extra nomination processes and archiving when discussion shouldn't be required. I considered letting an admin know on their talk page, but quite a few new pages popped up. Also, I'll sweep some old dust out of the pub later when I get a chance :) &lt;big&gt;[[User:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#4682b4&quot;&gt;&lt;big&gt;J&lt;/big&gt;ames'''&lt;small&gt;A&lt;/small&gt;'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/big&gt; &lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#191970&quot;&gt;'''&gt;talk'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt; 03:45, 4 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Introducing the Wikitravel API ==<br />
<br />
Hey there. Just wanted to mention that I've gone and created an [http://wiki-sherpa.appspot.com/api API for Wikitravel], for people who want to use Wikitravel data in other projects. It renders pages as hierarchical JSON objects, with wikimarkup rendered into simple HTML, and includes lists of subpages, geocoding of listings with addresses, etc. There's also a search API and the ability to search for pages and listings near a particular latitude and longitude. Please note, however, that it's very much a beta release; any feedback, suggestions, or bug reports would be most welcome! [[User:Rezendi|Rezendi]] 12:48, 4 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Mediawiki upgrade scheduled for 06-June-2012 ==<br />
<br />
Site will be READ-ONLY for up to 2 days while the upgrade is occurring.<br />
<br />
If there are edits you'd like to make, please do so asap.<br />
<br />
When the new site comes online, it will be on new hardware as well. Bug reporting is available here:<br />
<br />
http://wikitravel.org/shared/Tech:Upgrade_to_MediaWiki_1.17#1.17_UPGRADE_BUG_REPORTS<br />
<br />
If for any reason you need to contact me, I can be reached on my Talk page or my email address paul.obrien at internetbrands.com. Thanks!--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 14:07, 4 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Delayed until 06-June-2012--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 19:11, 4 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Upgrade complete. Please report issues at http://wikitravel.org/shared/Tech:Upgrade_to_MediaWiki_1.17#1.17_UPGRADE_BUG_REPORTS--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 19:02, 7 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Eratic readings since crash at 5. Juni 2012 in German Wikitravel ==<br />
<br />
Seit dem 7. Juni 2012 werden auf der Deutschen Seite von Wikitravel Informationen zu Sehenswürdigkeiten, Gastronomie und Unterkünften nur noch zum Teil angezeigt. Auch die Darstellung am Beginn eines Artikels hat sich zum Nachteil verändert. Die Hauptseite hat einen aktuellen Stand vom 22. Juni 2011, also fast ein Jahr alt. Auch die Artikelinformationen sind veraltet. Interessierte neue Autoren springen sehr schnell ab und gehen zu [http://www.wikivoyage.org/de/Hauptseite Wikivoyage] über. Dort werden sie herzlichst begrüßt und aufgenommen. Bei Wikitravel werden sie von einen nicht mehr aktiven Administrator gefrustet, der ihre Beiträge ohne Begründung löscht, anstatt ihnen Hilfe anzubieten.<br />
<br />
Man bekommt den Eindruck Wikitravel ist gestorben und wird nicht mehr gepflegt. Es ist seit Januar 2012 kein aktiver Administrator mehr tätig. Die Wahl für neue Administratoren ist mangels Interesse gescheitert. Wie soll es weitergehen? <br />
<br />
Please answer at the German Travellers' pub-Site. -- Knut [[Special:Contributions/84.58.160.100|84.58.160.100]] 04:32, 8 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Upgrade to 1.17 complete ==<br />
<br />
Hi all,<br />
<br />
As you can see, we have completed the initial stage of the upgrade of the MediWiki software to v1.17, the most current version available when the upgrade began in November. <br />
<br />
This has been an enormously complex endeavor, due to the huge size of the Wikitravel database and high level of visitor activity, as well as Wikitravel’s highly customized MediWiki version, consisting of a great many plugins.<br />
<br />
The next phase is now in progress: bug reports and fixes. Inevitably in an upgrade of this size and complexity there will be bugs. They’ll be addressed as they are reported; the process started this morning.<br />
<br />
Once we are convinced the new site is stable and fully functional, we’ll be able to tackle feature requests and bugs that were reported previously but that we could not address before the completion of the upgrade, and new feature requests that are just now available with this version of the software, such as InstantCommons. And now that the upgrade past 1.15 has been completed, future upgrades to 1.19 and beyond can and will be done in a far more efficient and timely manner.<br />
<br />
Wikitravel is now running on a completely new hardware platform. When the cacheing process is complete, we expect significant increases in performance and stability compared to the previous version of the site. We also have a larger and more experienced technical team to address the needs of the site.<br />
<br />
What this amounts to is a Wikitravel that is dramatically improved from a technical standpoint than it has been for the last few years. Coupled with the renewed community engagement between members and Wikitravel’s steward, Internet Brands, we have a recipe for longterm success with the technical aspects of the site, the ability of administrators to patrol edits, bug reporting and resolution, ease of contribution by writers, and above all usability for travelers around the globe.<br />
<br />
Wikitravel would not be possible without the dedicated community of administrators and writers whose content and curation have made it the preeminent travel destination anywhere. We are very happy to have completed this hardware and software upgrade, and look forward to continuing to evolve the site, in partnership with this community, in the years to come. <br />
<br />
We appreciate your patience and support during these last few months, as we have renewed our efforts to improve the site and energize the Wikitravel community. And we thank you for all you have done, both before and during Internet Brands’ stewardship. With nearly 2 million edits to almost 80,000 pages; over 70,000 registered users; and 7 million monthly visitors, there has never been a travel resource like Wiktravel. It is massive. It is unique. And it’s getting better by the day.<br />
<br />
--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 21:36, 8 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:I sincerely hope at least the bugs that affect security will be fixed within a few hours. If you don't have a safe new version of the software, isn't it better to prevent editing until you do? Yes, performance is a huge issue, but the inability to block spammers is untenable. If I can suggest something for the next upgrade: You need software that recognizes obvious spam, because depending on volunteers to manually delete spam and block spammers is not likely to withstand the efforts of more and more spambots. Thanks, and sorry if I sound peeved, but spammers have been operated unblocked for several days now. All the best, [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] 05:29, 11 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Hi Ikan, I am told the first round of bug fixes will be deployed in the next 24 hours. We've been working on site stability over the days since the update, and I am working hard to ensure that spam remediation -- including blocking users -- is prioritized. We know the manual removal of new spam accounts is arduous in the wake of this upgrade, and it is much, much appreciated by everyone. If I hear anything sooner, I will update here. Thank you,--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 13:09, 11 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Does anyone else have an opinion on locking edits until the user blocking feature can be restored?--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 15:06, 11 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::: I think we've been able to keep up with the spambots thus far, but it should definitely be a priority to get user blocking working again before the end of the day - at present we would have limited ability to deal with high-volume vandals, for example, and it's inevitable that they'll show before long. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 15:48, 11 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: Any update on bug fixes? It's been five days since the upgrade went live, so any info on when (for example) user blocking will again be working would be very useful. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 12:10, 13 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::When the far more serious issues such as those above have been dealt with it would be good to see a longer edit summary window return, that new short one is quite frustrating. cheers -- [[User:Felix505|felix]] 13:14, 13 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::I think that is user-selectable, Felix?--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 15:26, 13 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
::::*Hi iBobi, I cannot find any setting in the user prefs, is it somewhere else? -- cheers [[User:Felix505|felix]] 22:38, 13 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::First set of bug fixes are coming tomorrow a.m. (June 14), and will include blocking. Thanks for your patience and greater efforts at patrolling edits necessitated by this week-long tool outage!--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 15:26, 13 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::Lots of fake Ikan Kekek usernames just created: [http://wikitravel.org/en/Special:Log/newusers]. Time to prevent all edits by new users, or just shut down Wikitravel, period, right now. We won't like the results of allowing unblockable spammers and vandals to continue to run rampant, and we can wait till tomorrow (or whenever your bug fixes are actually operational) to start editing again. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] 20:50, 13 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
::::*If this sort of thing is going to continue unabated then lock down editing access completely until proper administrative functionality is restored. The world will not stop turning if editing functions are missing for a while, it might irritate or alienate a few new or casual editors who might run up against an editing block, but that is better than having the whole thing turned into a time consuming spam riddled and vandalised mess.--[[User:Felix505|felix]] 22:38, 13 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
en: has been unbelievably slow the last couple of days, far more than other language versions.[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 11:02, 14 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:&lt;strike&gt;I agree that IB should lock editing on :en, except perhaps for admins, until blocking functionality is restored. That this hasn't been fixed yet is troubling, and it cannot wait. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 11:15, 14 June 2012 (EDT)&lt;/strike&gt; Looks like blocking functionality is back, although I haven't tested other language versions. Loading the block page is slow as a Ghanaian cook, though. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 11:44, 14 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
::Over on pt:, I'm starting to think that the spam blacklist isn't doing its job-- I put some domains in the list the other day, and I see today that they are still being allowed to be posted. Has anyone checked this here on en:? [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 11:22, 14 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
:::Blocking has started working on pt: too. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 12:30, 14 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
::It works on ru:, but many other things still do not-((( [[User:Atsirlin|Atsirlin]] 15:33, 14 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
===Patrolling problems===<br />
I still am not able to mark many articles as patrolled. This is a problem that seems to randomly apply to some articles and not others, but it's been consistently a problem with perhaps 1/2 of unpatrolled articles at any given time since the update. What happens is that the articles show up in the &quot;Recent changes&quot; list as needing patrolling, but when I open them, there is no button to patrol them. That's not because anyone else has patrolled them: When I refresh the list, they still show up as unpatrolled. And if I edit them, the resulting version also shows up as unpatrolled in the &quot;Recent changes&quot; list but generally still does not have a patrol button when I open it. I am using Firefox 13.0.1 in a Windows XP environment, if that matters. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] 18:25, 24 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Same thing here. I believe the &quot;Mark as patrolled&quot; button doesn't appear when there is more than one edit to the article. Opera 12 on XP. [[User:Jjtk|Jjtk]] 04:21, 25 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::At least for administrators (but I thought for all registered users?), it should, and used to before the upgrade. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] 04:40, 25 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::It did, it broke after the upgrade. [[User:Jjtk|Jjtk]] 04:53, 25 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::I haven't had any problem patrolling edits. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 11:42, 25 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::: Using &quot;enhanced recent changes&quot; from the preferences (which consolidates edits to the same article) I'm also unable to mark multiple edits as patrolled, although they can be patrolled singly. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 11:49, 25 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::I've been using those enhanced changes. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] 17:51, 25 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
This is [[:wts:Tech:Grouped edits not patrollable|now fixed]], so we can get back to the beat. I have noticed that, on occasion, the marked as patrolled link is hiding at the bottom right of the page (as with new pages). I don't know why, but it shouldn't be a big deal, if people know about it. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 13:55, 6 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Breadcrumb Navigation not working on fr: ==<br />
Hi, thanks for the upgrade. However the breadcrumb navigation on fr: seems broken. It works on en: and nl: and I don't see any modification in [[Template:IsPartOf]]. Any idea? joelf<br />
: It seems fixed now. Thanks IB people! Joelf<br />
<br />
== OpenID not working==<br />
Also, login on en: using OpenID from fr: and URL ''fr:user:joelf'' doesn't seem to work either. Thanks for your help. joelf<br />
<br />
:Take a look at [[:wts:Tech:Upgrade_to_MediaWiki_1.17#1.17_UPGRADE_BUG_REPORTS]]. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 14:44, 18 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== cannot reach Shared ==<br />
<br />
Shared seems to be completely down or something. I cannot reach it at all... [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 10:23, 18 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:And now I get this message when I try to reach an image page on Shared:<br />
::''A database query syntax error has occurred. This may indicate a bug in the software. The last attempted database query was:''<br />
::''(SQL query hidden)''<br />
::''from within function &quot;LocalFile::upgradeRow&quot;. Database returned error &quot;1205: Lock wait timeout exceeded; try restarting transaction (wikitraveldb1-new)&quot;.''<br />
:[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 10:40, 18 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::No problems here. Maybe it's fixed? [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 13:16, 18 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::Now I can get to the Shared main page, after a considerable wait, but I still can't reach the page I want to change: [[http://wikitravel.org/en/File:Cambodia_Rail_Northern.png]]. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 13:50, 18 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Amtrak logo for routeboxes - fair use? ==<br />
<br />
I would like to integrate American rail travel into our routebox navigation, but first I need to come up with some 100x25 route icons to use. Obviously I could come up with some generic train symbol to use, but ideal would be to use Amtrak's wave symbol on the left with the route name on the right. The Amtrak logo is trademarked, and I do not know if this would constitute fair use, or if not, whether it would be desirable enough to attempt to get permission to create such derivative icons. Does anyone have an informed opinion on this? [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 10:29, 19 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:I definitely think it would be permitted under Fair Use, per [[:wikipedia:File:Amtrak_Logo.svg|usage at Wikipedia]]. The problem is, though, that we [[:wts:How_to_upload_files#Specify_licensing.21|don't allow]] copyrighted images under Fair Use ;) I agree, though, that it would be a shame not to use it—maybe we could come up with some other justification? --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 10:37, 19 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Hmmm.. Do you have any ideas on that? [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 11:20, 19 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::None at present ;) In the meantime, how does this look? [[File:AMTRAK Vermonter icon.png|right]]<br />
<br />
:::--[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 11:30, 19 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
::::Looks good enough for now. Can you toss me an .svg file so I can change the text for other lines? [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 12:00, 19 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::[[:wts:File:Amtrak icons.svg|Voila]] --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 12:27, 19 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:We would need to modify policy in order to make use of the copyrighted logo. One option might be to use Amtrak's old logo ([[:wikipedia:File:AmtrakLogo.png]]), which I would argue is uncopyrightable. Other than that, just stick with the wordmark in appropriate colors, as Peter did. On another note, how do we work train routes with routeboxes? Do we link all destinations, or only those at which the train actually stops? (Tangentially, I would suggest creating a combined icon for routes with a lot of overlap like Empire Service/Maple Leaf.) [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 14:56, 19 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
OK, thanks. I took what you did and made a mock-up icon for each train line they have. I just updated the same .svg you uploaded. Please have a look and tell me what you think! [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 22:49, 19 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
:LtPowers, that's a good idea about making combined icons for routes with overlap-- can you suggest exactly which ones might need that? <br />
:We should only link the destinations at which it stops-- it does no good for a traveller to know that some train passes through without stopping where they are. We have already implemented the main train lines pretty well for our Japan articles. You might want to have a look. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 22:55, 19 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
::It wouldn't do me much good to look at Japan because I'm not familiar with the geography of the area. =) I also don't know exactly which routes overlap; I know that Empire Service and Maple Leaf are the same except for Maple Leaf going to Toronto, but beyond that I'm clueless. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 13:09, 20 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
:::By the way, I re-exported your Northeast Express icon from the SVG to fix some font sizing issues, but I'm having trouble forcing the thumbnails to regenerate. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 13:24, 20 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
::::In the northeast corridor, it would probably be useful to have combined icons for Vermonter/Acela/Northeast Regional. The Vermonter and Northeast Regional share all the same stops (I believe) from D.C. through NYC before splitting. The Acela follows the same route as the Northeast Regional (and hence the Vermonter through NYC), but makes fewer stops. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 13:27, 20 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
I don't understand why we would see using the Amtrak logo as ideal. Surely that sends us down a slope of wanting to use each railway system logo around the world. There are literally hundreds of these, and some are going to want to enforce their trademarks. Stick to generic, I say. --[[User:Inas|Inas]] 00:52, 22 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Problems with the search/go function ==<br />
<br />
There seems to be something wrong with the search function. No matter what I type in there the search result is always the same:<br />
<br />
&quot;No such special page<br />
You have requested an invalid special page.<br />
A list of valid special pages can be found at Special pages.<br />
Return to Main Page.&quot;<br />
<br />
Has it something to do with the software update? <br />
<br />
[[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] 05:18, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
:Ypsilon, you beat me on time ;-) I have the same problem and can't search for articles. [[User:Jc8136|Jc8136]] 05:27, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::I just had that problem while looking for UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Of course, when I clicked the list of Special pages, it wasn't there, yet I found it by going to an off-site web search. [[User:Ikan Kekek|Ikan Kekek]] 05:39, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::I emailed [[User:IBobi|IBobi]] and started a bug report at [[Shared:Tech:Search/Go not working on en:]]. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 10:24, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::Go was working fine (that is, if you typed an article name exactly) until recently; I suspect they broke it when they were trying to fix Search. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 10:25, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::This is too important a problem to let readers sit in the dark about, so I have updated the SiteNotice to direct people to... Google. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 12:39, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::Nice move. I can't believe they won't even respond for something so important. Oh, wait.. yes, I can. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 12:48, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::::I've reported this to our tech team. Please keep in mind that we are on the US West Coast and will generally be able to respond to issues according to that time zone difference; it's just morning here. Thank you,--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 13:22, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::::: Now it's working again. Thanks! [[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] 07:18, 27 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
Let's be clear. ''Go'' is working, but ''Search'' is still not working properly. Currently it does perform a search, but it spews forth every resulting page in its entirety in raw text form. Try searching for &quot;New York&quot; and see what I mean. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 10:12, 28 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:What's the desired result for a search?--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 13:43, 28 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::It should return a list of results with only a 2-3 line excerpt of the article content (not including wiki markup) from the beginning of each result's article.[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 13:52, 28 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::My understanding is that this is the way MW 1.17 handles search results; it is fundamentally different from the old 1.11 version.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 15:44, 28 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::OK, so we have altered the way search displays so that it is a small 2-3 line digest of each result; the raw code as part of the results is a different matter, and we're looking into it.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 16:12, 28 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::FYI once we change this for all users, you can still go to your settings and go to the default setting if you want to see the full article in your search results.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 16:32, 28 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::Can anyone verify that wiki markup (&quot;raw text&quot;) was not displaying in the search results of the old version before the upgrade? Apparently the appearance of this markup is a bug with the MW software that they are aware of http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension_talk:SphinxSearch/Archive/2012#Search_Results_without_Wikicode.2FWiki_markup --[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 16:34, 28 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::I may be mistaken about the part about not showing raw text. Another thing though, I do think that the search used to default to content pages only, not everything all mixed with talk pages, user pages, etc. Please compare with the search on pt:, where everything seems to be working as it did before. I cannot really imagine a situation in which a user would find it useful for the entire article to appear on the results page in one giant block like that. It's ugly and often requires one to scroll quite a bit between result listings.[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 18:00, 28 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== POTALA INN, LITANG Sichuan China, DON'T GO! ==<br />
<br />
&lt;removed by LtPowers&gt;<br />
<br />
: Please add your information to the [[Litang]] travel article (click on the link, as the search function seems to be broken) because future travelers to the town will look for it there, not here. You should also boil it down to a few sentences. [[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] 08:10, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
::No, that is improper advice. [[Wikitravel:Avoid negative reviews]]. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 10:23, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
::: Yes, but I looked at the entry for the guesthouse out of curiosity and they weren't the first ones to complain about the service and the cleanliness. Googling the place gives even more negative reviews... And I guess there aren't very many places to choose from in the town, and according to the description it's centrally located too. So IMO this is one of the cases where travelers should be [[tcf|warned]]. [[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] 08:09, 27 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
::::I removed the positive listing from the article. I would think that if they are using the internet to find accommodation, and they come here and aren't satisfied with any of the other 6 options we do list, then they would be fairly likely to look elsewhere online and encounter said negative reviews. You won't find commercial printed wasting space with such negative reviews either.[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 11:55, 27 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==InstantCommons now enabled==<br />
<br />
Here's a bit of a bright spot in our messy upgrade: InstantCommons is enabled! This means you can add images from Commons to Wikitravel articles without having to re-upload them here. All you need do is add a thumbnail as usual (e.g., &lt;nowiki&gt;[[File:Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery.jpg|thumb|270px|Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery]]&lt;/nowiki&gt;). It will then show up properly in the article, and will have a shadow page of sorts here (e.g., [[:File:Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery.jpg]]), analogous to how our software handles images from Shared.<br />
<br />
To see this in action, check out [[Arlington (Virginia)]], to which I just added 10 Commons images, without the huge amount of work that used to entail! --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 23:05, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
:Awesome, super useful. Now, what is it that we don't have that allows one to directly display an .svg file on WP? If we had that functionality too, we could more easily import route icons without having to open them in Inkscape, save a .png, and upload it to Shared. Is that something we can get enabled here? [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 23:27, 26 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Ooh, good point about route icons. (It will still be important to export maps to PNG, for the purpose of allowing translation layers within SVGs.) Yes, we have the capability, provided we can get IB to add two lines to the config file... The '''instructions are here''' [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Image_Administration#SVG], and I assume the renderer to use would be '''rsvg''', as that is what the WMF projects all use. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 00:35, 27 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::Let me see what I can do.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 13:46, 27 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::Should be done guys -- can you test?--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 13:31, 28 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
::::I'm not seeing any difference. When an .svg is put in an image tag, it simply shows the filename as a link, e.g. [[Image:Eden Center map.svg|100px]]. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 14:20, 28 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
:Well color me surprised! I assume our image use policies will not change as a result? It might make it more difficult to enforce, though. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 09:01, 27 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::I suppose the main policies that will see changes are just about which files should be uploaded to Shared, and which to Commons. I think it is probably worth keeping our maps hierarchy separate. There also may be cases in which we want to use files locally that Commons doesn't consider free enough for global use (pictures of statues, for example). --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 11:12, 27 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
I just tried to add the coat of arms of [[Zeeland]] to the province article, but unfortunately, they forgot to turn on svg support. I hope they fix that soon! :-) --[[User:Kim Bruning|Kim Bruning]] 01:28, 14 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Are we using &lt;nowiki&gt;__TOC__ &lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt; __TOC__ &lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/nowiki&gt; ==<br />
<br />
I have seen this mark-up in a couple of articles today, are we using this image floating mark up here? -- [[User:Felix505|felix]] 01:34, 27 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: It's a bug with the listing editor, introduced some time today. See [[:shared:Tech:Listing editor adds TOC tag]]. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 02:54, 27 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Edited 1.17 upgrade bug reports to reflect fixes ==<br />
<br />
I have edited the http://wikitravel.org/shared/Tech:Upgrade_to_MediaWiki_1.17#1.17_UPGRADE_BUG_REPORTS to reflect what's been fixed &amp; what's pending, as well as a number of clarifications that are needed for tech.<br />
<br />
You'll also notice a parenthetical number next to many of them e.g. &quot;(175)&quot; -- this refers to the internal technical problem report assigned to each and will help us track them.<br />
<br />
If you see &quot;Fixed&quot; next to an issue you reported, please test it; if it's resolved, remove your bug from the list. If it is unresolved, please explain.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 15:22, 28 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:We have addressed and fixed all bugs reported since the 1.17 upgrade. Please review any you have reported and if they are still occurring, report them on the upgrade page (and unmark them as &quot;resolved&quot; or &quot;fixed&quot;) and we'll readress them.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 19:44, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Shared down? ==<br />
<br />
I currently can't seem to reach much of anything on Shared except the main page. Recent changes, the pub, random images, etc. all either time out or return a SQL error. What is going on there? [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 15:43, 29 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: Something is wrong. I got the database error ([[:shared:Tech:Database lock timeout]]) on the recent changes page a few minutes ago, but it seems to be working now. The spider I run that attempts to keep a backup of images has been getting error responses on nearly every request (after ten minutes of waiting) since late last night. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 16:06, 29 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::I have been editing Shared all day with no issues. There was a minor access blip on Shared and the regular site for a few minutes early this morning, but it's been fine since.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 19:08, 29 June 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== semi-problem logging in ==<br />
<br />
I seem to be able to log in, and when editing my changes are saved under my name, but while navigating it keeps saying &quot;Log in / create account&quot; in the upper right corner, instead of &quot;Justme - My talk - My preferences&quot; etc. As soon as I start editing I do see all those account-related options. Does anyone know why that is? [[User:Justme|Justme]] 12:09, 1 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Yup, chronic problems with caching. This particular problem has been around for, yikes, something like 5-6 years, but is rearing its ugly head a little extra post upgrade. IB claims to be looking into it, as you'll see [[:wts:Tech:Upgrade_to_MediaWiki_1.17#Most_Urgent_bugs|here]]. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 13:38, 1 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Oh, I see. Hadn't encountered this specific bug yet. Thanks for the quick reply. [[User:Justme|Justme]] 14:12, 1 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Get Out is on the way out ==<br />
<br />
Hi folks... if you haven't seen it, we've got a poll on options to change the name of our &quot;Get out&quot; sections to something less confusing. This will be a widespread change, so we want as much input as possible on it.<br />
<br />
The discussion is at [[Wikitravel talk:Article templates#Get out, again]]. After you read the discussion, check out the poll at [[Wikitravel talk:Article templates#Approval vote]]. For each of the options listed in the table, if you would be willing to accept that option, sign just your name with three tildes (&lt;nowiki&gt;~~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;) in the second column, and increment the vote total in the rightmost column. If you are not willing to accept an option, simply don't sign in that row.<br />
<br />
As of right now, &quot;Go next&quot; is acceptable to seven of the nine people who've voted, followed by &quot;Move on&quot; and &quot;Onward&quot; at five each.<br />
<br />
-- [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 15:07, 1 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
As a somewhat minor contributor, have no objection to changing the section title to something better. Would suggest the new title consider that the section may be used by folks also looking for nearby sites to visit on day-trips while using the main locale as a base. [[User:Hennejohn|Hennejohn]] 18:01, 5 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Wikitravel still glacially slow? ==<br />
<br />
Does anyone else feel that the site is basically just as slow as before the MediaWiki upgrade? This is the one thing that I most hoped the upgrade would fix, but it seems to me that things load just as slowly as before, especially here on en:, where I get to wait 15 seconds or more for even important pages like Recent Changes. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 12:16, 3 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: It took just over a minute to load the diff of your edit from the recent changes page for me. While the slowness could be due to any number of reasons, there was some suspect editing activity earlier today (see [[User talk:Pranavk]]) and there has been a known Linux issue affecting many, many servers since 30-June - see http://lwn.net/Articles/504657/ (that issue affected my home server and slowed it down massively). No clue whether either of those issues have any relevance to the current problems on Wikitravel, but something has definitely made things significantly slower lately. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 18:39, 3 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::WT is running on a brand new set of servers, one of which was replaced shortly after the upgrade was complete. Today the replacement machine was down for a short period of time but all is well now. What sorts of read/edot speeds are you experiencing yourself?<br />
<br />
::Also FYI on Thursday 7/5/2012 we are switching to a new cacheing service that ought to result in improved overall performance (read &amp; edit) and several bug fixes.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 19:14, 3 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::WT remains slow espcially when loading pages or initally starting to access WT. It's better compared to yesterday but still pretty slow compared to history.[[User:Jc8136|Jc8136]] 09:10, 4 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::: Things have been faster for me by a factor of about ten since late yesterday afternoon. Prior to that I was seeing page load times of up to a minute and occasional timeouts. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 11:35, 4 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Wikitravel is operating just as quickly, if not moreso, than Wikipedia for me. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 10:29, 4 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
::Agreed. Seems to have returned to normal here too. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 14:12, 4 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== A project for anyone who wants to help ==<br />
<br />
I've been playing with [[Special:LinkSearch]], which I assume to be a new feature since the upgrade, since I've never noticed it before. At any rate, it makes it pretty easy to spot hundreds of links which are not permitted in the main namespace by our [[Wikitravel:External links|external links policy]]. After eliminating a few dozen of them, I decided to appeal for help from anyone looking for something to do. Here are a few of the searches I tried:<br />
* [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:LinkSearch&amp;target=http%3A%2F%2F%2A.facebook.com&amp;namespace=0 Facebook] (social networking sites)<br />
* [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:LinkSearch&amp;target=http%3A%2F%2F%2A.tripadvisor.com&amp;namespace=0 Tripadvisor] (rival travel guides)<br />
* [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:LinkSearch&amp;target=http%3A%2F%2F%2A.google.com&amp;namespace=0 Google] (maps and search results)<br />
* [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:LinkSearch&amp;target=http%3A%2F%2F%2A.blogspot.com&amp;namespace=0 Blogspot] (blogs)<br />
* [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:LinkSearch&amp;target=http%3A%2F%2F%2A.wikipedia.org&amp;namespace=0 Wikipedia] (non-page-topic links)<br />
* [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:LinkSearch&amp;target=http%3A%2F%2F%2A.yahoo.com&amp;namespace=0 Yahoo] (maps and search results)<br />
* [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:LinkSearch&amp;target=http%3A%2F%2F%2A.myspace.com&amp;namespace=0 MySpace] (social networking sites)<br />
* [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:LinkSearch&amp;target=http%3A%2F%2F%2A.youtube.com&amp;namespace=0 YouTube] (video sites)<br />
* [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:LinkSearch&amp;target=http%3A%2F%2F%2A.vimeo.com&amp;namespace=0 Vimeo] (video sites)<br />
* [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:LinkSearch&amp;target=http%3A%2F%2F%2A.cnn.com&amp;namespace=0 CNN] (news articles)<br />
* [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:LinkSearch&amp;target=http%3A%2F%2F%2A.wordpress.com&amp;namespace=0 Wordpress] (blogs)<br />
Anyone bored? [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 23:19, 3 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
: tex, not today but i have a conference upcoming, where i'm going to be definitely need to look busy ;-) [[User:Jc8136|Jc8136]] 03:15, 4 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
::Tex, it ain't easy to find the links. I tried [[Yerevan]] and i see Troll Pub but it has not ext.link. The search for Facebook results nothing. [[User:Jc8136|Jc8136]] 03:21, 4 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::Nifty tool! Several of the above searches might turn up legitimate links, though. Facebook, MySpace, and even Wordpress are more commonly used as websites for obscure little guesthouses than you might think. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 03:31, 4 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::Agreed. I think we should alter slightly the [[Xl#What_not_to_link_to|policy]] to include the possibility of a blog or fb page being allowed when they are the only official web presence of a business. [[User:Jjtk|Jjtk]] 03:50, 4 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== What if the future looked like this? ==<br />
Three separate discussions about [[Wikitravel_talk:External_links#Facebook|allowing Facebook links]],<br />
[[Wikitravel_talk:Listings#web/email_format|web/email format]], and [[Wikitravel:Travellers'_pub#Templated_See_and_Do_listings|redesigning our templated listings format]] have got me thinking how we can update or modernize the way we present our information, and I've come up with a tentative proposal. It's really less a proposal and more just me throwing some ideas around, so I'm open to debate on any of the multiple points this will introduce, but I think the general idea is worth considering. Before I lay out the proposed changes though, I'd like to make some points and detail some reasoning behind the proposal.<br />
* '''Social networking as contact information''' - Since WT started, social networking has grown drastically in importance as a means of communication, in some cases being now more important than phone numbers or emails, and surely in all cases more relevant than &lt;strike&gt;telegram&lt;/strike&gt; fax.<br />
** '''Facebook''' - As the [[Wikitravel_talk:External_links#Facebook|Facebook]] discussion points out, many establishments have only Facebook as their web presence, and consensus seems to be leaning towards allowing them in such cases. Even for those who have also a normal website, Facebook may provide a more convenient way of contact for travellers, since a huge portion of our users also have Facebook accounts.<br />
** '''Twitter''' - Hasn't been discussed, but since Wikitravel has started, Twitter has taken over the web, and many many establishments have a twitter account, many users are bound to have accounts, and Twitter makes a more convenient avenue of communication for some than phone calls, full emails, etc. Twitter is especially popular with smaller accommodation owners, local restaurants, bars, music venues, and recreational activity providers, and even many mainstream attractions such as museums and festivals have an account.<br />
** '''Skype''' - Many smaller restaurants and accommodations (e.g. hostels) have Skype accounts which would provide travellers with a free international phone call or text consultation. I know that I, for one, would be far more likely to call via Skype to book a room at a foreign destination than I would to call international long-distance via landline.<br />
* '''Grouping all contact information''' - Within a listing, contact information should all be grouped together. As an aside, I will throw in the bold assumption that fax info can be eliminated as a now-outdated mode of communication unlikely to be used by travellers. For the purposes of this proposal, then, contact information will be taken to mean:<br />
** '''Address''', including directions, if any<br />
** '''Phone number'''<br />
** '''Official website'''<br />
** '''Email'''<br />
** '''Facebook business page'''<br />
** '''Twitter'''<br />
** '''Skype'''<br />
Accepting the above definitions as reasonable and assuming we can set up the templates to do what we want, the tentative proposition is simply this:<br />
* We separate all the contact information, either into a separate column on the right or on a fresh line under the rest, leaving the lead to go directly from the name into the description, followed by hours and price.<br />
* In the contact info part, the address and phone number are written out. Everything else gets just a small linked icon unless you print the page.<br />
Template fiddling, spacing, which icon to use, how images are incorporated into such sections, etc. can all be worked out later, but I made mock-ups of a couple of layout ideas. I tried to include examples with an assortment of information quantities to approximate how it would look with the completeness of an average article. <br />
Anyway, I'd like to call for your general comments and opinions, so... '''what if the future looked like this'''? :<br />
* '''[[User:Texugo/Mock layout|Mock layout 1]]'''<br />
* '''[[User:Texugo/Mock layout 2|Mock layout 2]]'''<br />
* '''[[User:Texugo/Mock layout 3|Mock layout 3]]'''<br />
[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 17:39, 4 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
:I don't know how to artificially display our standard bullet points and cannot make functioning icon links, so please use your imagination. Also, if you know how, feel free to mess around with the messily-coded mock-ups and/or make new ones, but please do so on a different page so these will be here for others to look at.[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 17:54, 4 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::I think these are some good ideas. I'd support the removal of 'fax', but I notice you've also removed 'alt' phone. A lot of Asian/African countries have multiple phone numbers, due to unpredictable landline connections. Some smaller businesses also give the option of mobile or landline; whichever is cheaper, or working. Therefore, I think that should stay. Facebook, Twitter and Skype accounts are a good idea, but we'd need to be careful about linking to &quot;official&quot; accounts, and not someone's fanpage. I'm leaning towards something along the lines of Mock layout 1, as it separates the information into where it belongs, whereas the others shove things like trading hours, price and descriptions. Mock layout 3 could be good if the left column was widened. One option could be automatic column width, so that if the left column gets a lot of text from things like directions, it would be wide, whereas if all it had was titles, it'd be narrow. But very nice work overall. &lt;big&gt;[[User:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#4682b4&quot;&gt;&lt;big&gt;J&lt;/big&gt;ames'''&lt;small&gt;A&lt;/small&gt;'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/big&gt; &lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#191970&quot;&gt;'''&gt;talk'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt; 06:45, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
:::FWIW, I didn't intentionally leave out alt phone numbers. I just didn't think of them because they're are very rare in the vast majority of articles.[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 08:42, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
::::I made a similar proposal at Wikivoyage/de at our [http://www.wikivoyage.org/de/Wikivoyage:Lounge lounge]. Of course we implemented do, see and eat tags, but we use mainly a template named [http://www.wikivoyage.org/de/Vorlage:VCard vCard]. A template is more flexible and could easily be changed without programming. We use a template master to make the data entry simple but I hope that new Mediawiki versions will have its own graphical tool. By the way I prefer the first variant. --[[User:Unger|Unger]] 01:41, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
:::::I agree with your assessment of the third mock up and have widened the left column somewhat. I also think that one would look slightly better if both the telephone number and the icons were on the same line but with the number left-aligned and the icons right-aligned (but still in the first column), instead of taking up two separate lines. [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 11:39, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
::::::I cannot speak to the prevalence of fax as means of communication in certain areas; it seems like it might still be used in some places, but I can't say for sure. Is there any harm in leaving it? Phoneextra is also useful for TDD/TTY numbers, though those are also going by the wayside. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 12:26, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
:::::::The only harm it does is to work against economy of space. I just have a hard time imagining that more than the rarest of travellers would even consider sending a fax to make a dinner reservation or inquire about hotel vacancies these days, especially to/in a foreign country. Even in Asian countries where they are still more common, I think they are mostly used for inter-business purposes.[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 13:13, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
:::::::: I work in many countries. Fax really has died over the last 5 years, so I do not think it is a problem to drop it completely. If absolutely necessary somewhere, it could be put in as part of the text. I like mock up 3! However, I am not convinced of the value of adding Twitter. There is a risk of too many icons littering a page.[[User:Davidbstanley|Davidbstanley]] 11:27, 6 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
[de-indenting]&lt;br&gt;<br />
For fax (along with alt, checkin/checkout, and several other tags), I think we should just nix it from the listings editor, but keep it available if someone in the know wants to add it, for the relatively rare exceptions that would see them as useful.<br />
<br />
I think adding facebook/twitter information is the right way to go, as businesses put out a lot of really useful information through both. Hopefully we could create something more generic, though, to include other microblogs and personal social networking page sites. (Evan [http://identi.ca] hasn't yet dethroned Twitter, but I'm bullish on destroying Facebook [http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-10/on-diasporas-social-network-you-own-your-data].) I can't comment on skype—haven't yet worked it into my travel bag of tricks.<br />
<br />
Texugo, I ''really'' like your first mockup—awesome stuff! It would be good to make the hours stand out even more, though, as they are arguably the most important reference information we include. Maybe italics? Or color?<br />
<br />
Unger, does your template work with the listings editor? Keeping the listings editor will be crucial if we ever do launch into the yesteryear age of online editing... --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 16:04, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:I'm poking around clker.com (PD icons), and found some that either would be great looking imported as is, or which I could edit a bit. For urls, [http://www.clker.com/clipart-applications-internet.html] is pretty nice. I could fix up one of these to make it look a little tweetier [http://www.clker.com/clipart-inetrnet-group-chat.html] [http://www.clker.com/clipart-jovenez-1.html], and could ''try'' to fix one of these for social networking profiles [http://www.clker.com/clipart-social-network.html] [http://www.clker.com/clipart-network-5.html]. Our email icon is fine, but these are a bit snappier [http://www.clker.com/clipart-mail-reply-sender.html] [http://www.clker.com/clipart-15038.html]. Adding an hours icon (basically any clock) could be another good way to highlight the ever-important hours field. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 16:20, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
::I'm also partial to mock-up 1, and I totally agree about italicizing the hours. I've gone ahead and done that on the mock-up, and it works well to set that info apart from the description. As to icons, I'll get back to you on that, but I was basically just shooting to find ones that have the same background shape (couldn't find one for Skype). I'm leaning toward making the icons for facebook, twitter, and skype clearly indicate what they are though and wouldn't really like to use a generic that doesn't at least indicate something similar to their own icon. I like the idea for a clock icon, and I considered using one to replace our little phone symbol. It would be nice to mock up some stylistically matching sets of all the necessary icons since they'd always be sitting next to each other in random combinations. Anyway, choosing specific icons would be its own discussion if consensus gets behind this idea.[[User:Texugo|texugo]] 16:53, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::One thing I'm noticing is that the price info can get a little lost at the end of the hours line (which can vary wildly in length). Perhaps move it back to the end of the description, and bold it? Or we could have the price range follow a more eye-catching dollar icon? --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 17:49, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::I like the layouts, Mock Layout 3 makes the address easy to find in a list of places, which is good in larger cities where maybe I am looking for somewhere to eat in the North side of the city. However I am not so sure about generally adding Facebook and Twitter links. If a business uses Facebook as its main internet presence then this can just go in place of a web address. I would not expect to look at Twitter as my first contact with a business, more as a way of staying in touch with somewhere that I already use. There may be the odd exception like an airport that tweets departure information, but then I think that we should take the trouble to say what is being tweeted. Unless devices are common that can only look at Facebook / Twitter and not web pages, then I think that the traveller should be directed to whatever is the best first point of contact and can then find other links from there (which helps to avoid getting fan pages added).[[User:AlasdairW|AlasdairW]] 18:54, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
Here's a bored half hour's worth of icon work from someone who probably isn't too good at this kind of thing... Anyway, they are of even width &amp; height, and conform in a very loose way to our usual color scheme!<br />
<br />
[[File:Mouseworldicon.png|24px]] [[File:Atsignemailicon.png|24px]] [[File:Thisisnotatweeticon.png|24px]] [[File:Socialnetworkicon.png|24px]] [[File:Thisisnotaskypeicon.png|24px]]<br />
<br />
Like 'em? FTS? Suggestions? Anyone want an SVG of this? --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 19:13, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
:I appreciate the effort, Peter, but I gotta admit the icons don't mean anything to me. A couple I can figure out with some concentration, but icons like these need to be immediately recognizable to be useful. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 22:24, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::I'd disagree with that sentiment, if not the criticism of the icons, since you can always just hover your mouse over an icon to see what it's about. In any rate, our current footnote looking things aren't immediately recognizable! --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 23:22, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
::::Case in point! [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Pokhara&amp;curid=5019&amp;diff=1903243&amp;oldid=1901873&amp;rcid=1926127] --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 00:56, 27 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::*'''Facebook''' I am concerned about the concept of Facebook linking. To include Facebook potentially opens a quite large can of worms in regard to patrolling. We have had plenty enough problems with @yahoo.com, @hotmail.com and @gmail.com email addresses. Especially in the 3rd world many providers use [http://www.zemskov.net/free-email-domains.html common domain] email addresses, or use them as a back up secondary email address.&lt;br&gt;In some regions (especially the Indian sub-continent) every time someone changes one of these addresses they need to be checked to ensure it is not a hijack attempt. This phenomena is particularly common in the Indian articles but appears elsewhere as well. It has occasionally been suggested we should eliminate these common domain email addresses from the articles. This is not practical as many quite legitimate and substantial providers use them. It would be unfair to a large body of providers and disadvantageous to travellers to eliminate them. Unless the provider is well known to the patrolling editor, or the common domain email address is published on the providers website or another authoritative source then it is often difficult and time consuming to determine legitimacy. Sometimes an extensive examination of edit histories is required to determine the bona-fides of the editor changing or adding the common domain contact. <br />
::::☯To add Facebook listings to this mix seems to be asking for more trouble. Though it is of course understood that many traders do use Facebook accounts I have noted many Facebook accounts appear to be ''name holders'', similar in a way to registering a common domain name email address, or a domain name similar to that of a trader or product, and then sitting on it either to block use of it or to gain some advantage by selling it or using it to divert business to someone other than the principal business. <br />
::::☯Perhaps we need to consider if FB is really even accepted as a formal communication vehicle, or is it more one of tagging and maintaining existing customer connection through often vacuous self promotion. I have also noticed that for many small operators a common domain email address and a Facebook account is their only web presence. Anecdotally it appears that Facebook does not work well for many third world tourism providers. Many small operators tell me they do not believe it provides them any tangible business opportunity and it is email, SMS, Telephone, Skype and positive Tripadvisor recommendations and referral that are far more important to their activities<br />
::::☯The previous discussions concerning FB seem to have hovered over the idea of 'business' Facebook accounts being linked. For those who might use a Facebook account in replacement of a business website we must consider if they are really likely to use a revenue account with FB, it seems unlikely, therefore we are setting ourselves a near impossible task of assessing the 'commercial' relevance of individual FB accounts that may be associated with a business operator. There is also the issue of inactive FB accounts. Some people tire of the medium and neglect it, so if we link to an account such as this we are potentially adding a dead end contact.<br />
::::☯Perhaps our endeavours would be better applied to ensuring the existing contact methods are accurate rather having our efforts diverted into an added burden of further account verification demands arising from FB and Twitter accounts and the questionable virtues of supporting a commercial opportunity for either IB, Facebook or Twitter arising from providing such links in the articles and then patrolling them for consistency and legitimacy. <br />
::::☯I am unconvinced of the benefit to the project and not at all keen to commit my own time toward refining a potential revenue stream derived from FB clicks or the data mining and correlation models operated by FB and Twitter. <br />
::::☯I am raising this here as I note the [[Wikitravel:External links]] guideline on this has been modified recently. Perhaps this requires a little more scrutiny, especially in regard to the potential outcomes in regions with a history of contact hijacking and also in regard to our own participation in developing the Facebook and Twitter commercial models by facilitating WT linking. <br />
:::*'''Twitter''' seems to be reliant upon an always-on connectivity, this is irrelevant to much of the world, I think we should be wary of viewing the world through a lens narrowed by the hype of always-on connectivity. Also I wonder why we are allowing these 3rd party commercial links into the body of the article, we should not forget the core function of enterprises such as FB, it is to collect, collate, control and commercially disseminate data for commercial gain, it is not a benign vehicle of communication.<br />
:::*'''Skype''' linking is a different thing, I thoroughly support that and it would be good to see a listing field added to the standard format asap. As for adding an icon for that, great idea. Skype is a service commonly used and very popular with travellers.<br />
:::*'''Alt phone''' this should stay as it is essential to list more than one phone contact in some regions and PABX systems are rare in many 3rd world environments, I don't think it requires an icon though.<br />
:::*'''Fax''' is difficult, some still use it for payment authorities and many banks and insurance companies will insist on faxing documents and will not accept email communications, having the number readily at hand in a WT article may assist the traveller in circumstances such as these so maybe it should remain as listing text detail, but not have an icon. --[[User:Felix505|felix]] 23:41, 6 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::I certainly agree with negative sentiments regarding Facebook. ''But'', small businesses—even those that have a real webpage—often update their personal facebook page with important information more frequently. In my endless search for details belonging in listings, I often cannot find hours information for small boutique restaurants, or current event listings for nightclubs or rock venues without looking into their Facebook page. Microblogs, such as those on Twitter, are a similar deal for finding current events. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 12:36, 7 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Shared repository message ==<br />
<br />
When you visit an image page on en: for a file hosted on shared, you get a message that &quot;This file is from a shared repository. Visit it's file description page..&quot; etc. When did that message turn into a hot pink eyesore? Can we change it do something a little less jolting? [[User:Texugo|texugo]] 23:35, 5 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Yes, that was my handiwork at [[MediaWiki:Sharedupload-desc-there]] ;)<br />
<br />
:It should be at least a little jolting, though. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 00:18, 6 July 2012 (EDT) '''''→''' It should be better now 00:34, 6 July 2012 (EDT)''<br />
<br />
::What's really interesting, though, is that Commons images are getting a different message (example: [[:File:Rosslyn Panorama 00092.jpg]]), which copies the image licensing and attribution information! That message is [[MediaWiki:sharedupload-desc-here]]. Now how do we get that functionality for our own shared repository...? --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 00:20, 6 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==It's quiet, a little ''too'' quiet==<br />
<br />
Did I miss a holiday today or something? The only time I've seen so few edits in recentchanges has been on Christmas! --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 23:05, 7 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: Some of the more [[Special:Contributions/Ikan_Kekek|prodigious]] [[Special:Contributions/Eco84|editors]] seem to be missing today. And the number of contributions seem to generally have been lower since the upgrade - some folks probably wandered off temporarily due to various upgrade bugs and should return as things stabilize. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 23:28, 7 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Maybe. It's weird though—I just patrolled the entire day's edits in 15 minutes. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 23:45, 7 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::I suspect I'm not the only one who sees little point in working on WT while we wait for [[#Moving_to_Wikimedia|the hammer to drop]]... [[User:Jpatokal|jpatokal]] 22:55, 9 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::Regardless of outcomes, I still want things in good shape here. The fact that I cannot block bots or delete pages right now frustrates that desire. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 01:48, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::Am I the only one then, who repeatedly could not reach Wikitravel, today and yesterday? I got the &quot;Wikitravel has a problem&quot; message. Maybe others had the same. [[User:Justme|Justme]] 08:39, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::There were scattered outages yesterday due to the cacheing change reported on Shared. Are you still having trouble editing? I made an edit with no issue.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 14:53, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::::I can edit with Chromium on the same PC, and Firefox on a different pc (same IP, different Firefox version), so I guess the issue is with Firefox 3.6.24? --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 17:01, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::::::Sounds likely. I'm on FF 13.0.1, so it's just possible some new updates left your ancient version behind finally?--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 17:06, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
Peter, tech recommends you remove ALL cookies and hard refresh; it may have cached something wonky. They're looking into potential conflicts with that FF version.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 17:26, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:I'm able to edit as normally as of this evening EST! --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 18:42, 12 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Suggestion: Guidelines for Accommodations (price) ==<br />
<br />
During my trip to (Southeast-)Asia I experienced often the situation that the budget and mid-range section where totally mixed up. Maybe it would be good to have a rough guideline for each place to sort the accommodations according to the price. &lt;small&gt;—The [[Wikitravel:Using_talk_pages#Talk_page_formatting|preceding]] comment was added by [[User:Askingcat|Askingcat]] ([[User_talk:Askingcat|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Askingcat|contribs]]) &lt;/small&gt;<br />
:Every Sleep section should have a [[Template:Sleeppricerange]] nearby. If one is missing, maybe you can [[Wikitravel:Plunge forward|add it]]! [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 09:12, 8 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Is that true? Should every sleep (and eat) section have one? Because most of our star articles don't, I think. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 10:49, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::Well, every bottom-level (leaf-node) article. At least, that's what I thought. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 13:03, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Coordinates ==<br />
<br />
Hi! I'm new to Wikitravel (in the meaning of adding information). I would like to make suggestion, although probably it was discussed before on this page. I think it will be very convenient to have GPS coordinates near titles of places, especially in the See section. When I go to new place, usually I print relevant Wikitravel page and having coordinates there will be very helpful. Also it could very helpful to have linked appropriate Google map to the article, but probably it is out of scope of the project. <br />
<br />
While I understand the nobody is able to add magically coordinates in the one moment, it would be nice to mention this somewhere in guidelines (if it is not yet) --[[User:DixonD|DixonD]] 10:27, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:You can find more information on the topic at [[Wikitravel:Geocoding]]. If you have ideas as to how those coordinates can best be displayed and utilized, please leave a message on the talk page! [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 13:05, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Also see [[Wikitravel:Geographical data and metadata]]. For adding geo data to listings, that's actually pretty easy, so long as they are properly formatted with our [[Wikitravel:Listings|listings tags]]. For a completely random example, look at [[Slough#See]] and click on the edit link at the end of the listing. In the listing editor that comes up, you can enter the coordinates into the lat and long fields.<br />
<br />
::We used to have the ability to use [[special:mapstraction]] to pull up a Google Maps view of the article destination, but that doesn't seem to be functional now. In any rate, it wasn't that helpful, and probably just distracts from our mapmaking goals, which stress keeping the maps on-site, so that articles are easy to print and use on the go. In the not-yet-foreseeable future, one of our goals is to auto-generate maps of our listings on maps imported from OpenStreetMap, which shares our [[:wts:Copyleft|CC license]]. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 13:30, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Bugs, feature requests, and the future of Wikitravel ==<br />
<br />
Please view and comment on this section on Shared [http://wikitravel.org/shared/Wikitravel_Shared:Travellers%27_pub#Bugs.2C_feature_requests.2C_and_the_future_of_Wikitravel Bugs, feature requests, and the future of Wikitravel].--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] 20:46, 10 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
Thank you. --[[User:DavidCary|DavidCary]] 12:43, 21 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
==Lost discussion==<br />
<br />
I can't for the life of me find the discussion in which we were talking about having the ability to up/down-vote and to mark-as-correct listings, with a trusted class of reviewers and editors. Does anyone know what happened to it? --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 16:25, 11 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
: I think that was [[Wikitravel:Business listings reliability Expedition]]. The discussions are mostly on the talk page. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 16:33, 11 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Support for email notification? ==<br />
<br />
Please see [[Shared:Tech:Enable_Email_Verification_and_Notification|Enable Email Verification and Notification]] and add your X to the [[:shared:Wikitravel Shared:Roadmap|Roadmap]] if you like it.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] [[User talk:IBobi|talk]] [[Special:EmailUser/IBobi|email]] 19:58, 12 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
Today, email notifications have been enabled. The feature defaults to &quot;off&quot; so you will not receive any until you switch it on and confirm your email in your User Profile.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] [[User talk:IBobi|talk]] [[Special:EmailUser/IBobi|email]] 13:45, 27 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:FYI for those not following Shared, this changed basically has disabled email without notice for all users who registered prior to 27 July 2012. To re-enable yours, use [[Special:ConfirmEmail]] and be sure to update your [[special:preferences|email preferences]] to enable only those notifications that you actually want.<br />
<br />
:This is a big problem, though, in that the vast majority of our past and present users are not following pub discussions, and will not know that their Wikitravel email functionality has been disabled. Please also see [[:wts:Tech:Enable Email Verification and Notification]]. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 18:54, 3 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::It looks as though this issue has been fixed, and that email is working fine once more. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 23:55, 6 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Spam Page ==<br />
I'm moving a discussion from my talk page here to see if anyone else has seen these error messages or experience the same problem. Ryan also posted this to [[Wikitravel talk:How to handle unwanted edits#Important - blocking spambots]]. <br />
-------------------------------------------<br />
You're shown as the author of [[User:Chen47vk7]], which is a spambot page. Any idea what's going on? Is this another upgrade bug? -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 16:09, 14 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:When I tried logging in earlier, I got a message that (I think) said something about being prevented from logging in to prevent account being compromised or something like that. The time of those edits is about the time I logged in (or tried to). I'm on a public wi-fi network...maybe that has something to do with that? [[User:AHeneen|AHeneen]] 16:15, 14 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:: You're the second &quot;normal&quot; account I've seen today that had a spambot page created. It may be an upgrade bug, but if you see that message again can you copy it and add it to this thread? -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 17:01, 14 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
[[Image:Login_error.JPG|thumb|300px|Screenshot 1]]<br />
Today after clicking the &quot;log in&quot; in the upper right, then entering my username &amp; password and hitting enter, I got the screen at right. I think what I did on the 14th was re-enter my password at this screen, after which I got the message I mentioned about being compromised or something like that. This time I clicked the WT image in the top right to return to the homepage, where I was still &quot;logged in&quot; as this spambot (?). I just closed the window (my Firefox setting is to clear cookies when exiting) and came back to WT to log in...without incident. These two instances are the only two times I've ever seen this message...my browser should accept cookies. Using my home internet this time. Maybe this is a bug. (BTW:Message is in a grey box because I highlighted it to copy/paste, but then decided to capture a screenshot with the message still highlighted). [[User:AHeneen|AHeneen]] 05:49, 16 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
[[Image:Login_error2.JPG|thumb|300px|Screenshot 2]]<br />
:I got the log in error message in the second screenshot when I tried to log in today...the same one I got the first time. Happened in the same way as the last two times: clicked on &quot;log in&quot; from WT homepage, entered by username &amp; password on the following page and hit enter. Again, notice that I appear to be logged in as a spambot. This time I entered my password on this page and clicked &quot;log in&quot;, but checking my &quot;user contributions&quot; it doesn't look like any spam edits have been made by my account. [[User:AHeneen|AHeneen]] 22:39, 16 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:: There was a bug fixed in Mediawiki 1.17.2 that apparently would allow a script running on your machine to &quot;steal&quot; session information - if you're on Windows, do you run a virus scanner? Otherwise you might want to try clearing cookies and see if the problem goes away. Alternately, it's possible that a malicious Google ad or something similar could be stealing session info via the aforementioned bug. For what it's worth I reported the problem to IB and requested that they upgrade to the latest bugfix release. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 22:58, 16 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
[[Image:LoginError3.JPG|thumb|300px|Screenshot 3]]<br />
:::I was adding another comment when you added yours. I do run a virus scanner and like I said in the first post, my browser setting are set to delete cookies when the browser is closed (just double-checked this). Should this be moved to the pub for others to comment on? ''So after making the last comment, I went to my watchlist to patrol recent edits and got the message shown in the third screenshot while making a couple edits. After logging back in, I checked my contributions, but no spam edits made by my account. Since the upgrade, I seem to get logged out of my account anywhere from 15-45 minutes after logging in (a rough guess) and this happened 20 minutes after logging in (based on difference between timestamps on the images' metadata).'' [[User:AHeneen|AHeneen]] 23:04, 16 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::: It probably wouldn't hurt to give this issue wider exposure in the [[Pub]] since it hasn't just been your account - I just deleted a spambot page credited to [[User:AndreCarrotflower]]. I've also raised this issue at [[Wikitravel talk:How to handle unwanted edits#Important - blocking spambots]]. -- [[User:Wrh2|Ryan]] &amp;bull; ([[User talk:Wrh2|talk]]) &amp;bull; 00:15, 17 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
---------------------------------------<br />
So has anyone else seen this or seen these error messages? [[User:AHeneen|AHeneen]] 01:28, 17 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:Yes, I was receiving them after last Monday's caching server upgrade (at least I think that's what it was), and received them July 9th-12th. I only received them in one browser on one computer (Firefox 3, Ubuntu 10.04). On the 13th I was able to edit again as normally. I didn't report on site because it was too much of a pain to edit! --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 00:43, 18 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::I've been getting these messages every time I've logged in since the 14th. Upgraded from Firefox 13 to 14.0.1 today (on Windows 7 SP1, for what it's worth), but that hasn't changed anything. Only the first time this happened were spam edits &quot;made&quot; by my account. [[User:AHeneen|AHeneen]] 02:12, 18 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::I got it today for the first time. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] 14:53, 18 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::::We are working to implement a security patch this week. Thank you all.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] [[User talk:IBobi|talk]] [[Special:EmailUser/IBobi|email]] 15:10, 18 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:::::No hurry, [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=User%3AIphones2q&amp;action=historysubmit&amp;diff=1902158&amp;oldid=1902106 since you're a spambot yourself now]. (Oh, the irony!) [[User:Jpatokal|jpatokal]] 09:34, 24 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
::::::Jani, just placed the irony on IBobi's talk page. It would be ironic if it wouldn't kill Wikitravel rather soon. It's really sad to see the project unfold on its own. If anyone needs arguments against IB, then we show this discussion. [[User:Jc8136|Jc8136]] 09:41, 24 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
The MW 1.17.2 patch was deployed early this morning Pacific time. Please let me know as soon as possible if it has not addressed the spambot issue and the deletion problem.<br />
If earnest attention to and resolution of a MW software bug is an &quot;argument against&quot; the host, Jc, I really don't know what to tell you. A patch this size cannot be deployed hastily, lest the functionality of the site itself be jeopardized.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] [[User talk:IBobi|talk]] [[Special:EmailUser/IBobi|email]] 13:20, 24 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
:When we have big problems affecting the integrity of the site, I think Wikitravellers' patience with IB's business hours wanes. We work around the clock, around the globe to maintain some semblance of wikidignity on a site that is hard for me to even edit, still. It took around 5 minutes to load this page's history and then the diffs since my last visit just right now. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 18:00, 24 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
::Sorry it's been slow today, Peter; as I mentioned in earlier notes regarding the upgrade that occurred today, site speed will be slow because it's a patch to the entire site, which then requires some time for the cache to rebuild. This is a huge site, and there's no way around it. Upgrading takes a temporary toll on site speed -- it has nothing at all to do with it being IB that made the upgrade. It's a software bug with MediaWiki that we needed to resolve. <br />
<br />
::Some things just take time. It wasn't business hours that caused the week delay; it's our care in ensuring that the upgrade would be done well and would not compromise the site. We go from investigating the issue, to investigating a solution, to putting the solution on a staging server, testing it there, then putting it into production on the live site here. Hopefully you understand, and thank you for your help in reporting and resolving this.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] [[User talk:IBobi|talk]] [[Special:EmailUser/IBobi|email]] 18:12, 24 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
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::: According to recent changes &quot;I&quot; have just created a new account called User:Rdidonato41... one of many probable spam accounts. And as I said on shared before, I still need to reload almost every page (half of the time not even that works, I have to go back one page and forwards again to get the page.) /insert swearing word of your choice/ [[User:Ypsilon|Ypsilon]] 02:20, 30 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
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Cache was fully cleared yesterday (as you could see from slowness); this should have propagated all changes made since the patch last week. Please report if spambot spooling issue persists.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] [[User talk:IBobi|talk]] [[Special:EmailUser/IBobi|email]] 18:09, 31 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
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Was my account taken over? In the morning I couldn't edit and got a message that I was blocked for spamming. [[User:Jjtk|Jjtk]] 07:54, 1 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
:Same thing happened to me yesterday. I also noticed that Travellers' Pub was missing from the nav bar, and when I tried to edit a page, I got the message below...<br />
You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reason:<br />
Your IP address has been automatically blocked because it was used by another user, who was blocked by Ikan Kekek. The reason given is this:<br />
Autoblocked because your IP address has been recently used by &quot;Hdfs9f2qb&quot;.<br />
The reason given for Hdfs9f2qb's block is: &quot;Spambot&quot;<br />
• Start of block: 08:49, 2 August 2012<br />
• Expiry of block: 08:49, 3 August 2012<br />
• Intended blockee: 10.17.32.138<br />
You may contact Ikan Kekek or one of the other administrators to discuss the block.<br />
Note that you may not use the &quot;e-mail this user&quot; feature unless you have a valid e-mail address registered in your user preferences and you have not been blocked from using it.<br />
Your current IP address is 10.17.32.138, and the block ID is #10618. Please include all above details in any queries you make.<br />
:I was unable to email [[User:Ikan Kekek]] because my email address was no longer registered. When I tried to re-register, I got the following message...<br />
Set $wgShowExceptionDetails = true; at the bottom of LocalSettings.php to show detailed debugging information.<br />
:Good news is that I was allowed in again today, and able to re-register my email. [[User:Jnich99|Jnich99]] 01:32, 3 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
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We have a solution we'd like to implement on the spambot spooling accounts issue; please see [http://wikitravel.org/shared/Tech:Spambots Spambots] and the comments from Ryan and myself. Weigh in if you have any information or opinion. We'd like to do this soon.--[[User:IBobi|IBobi]] [[User talk:IBobi|talk]] [[Special:EmailUser/IBobi|email]] 14:24, 7 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
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:Spambots are doing more than just creating accounts from existing non-spambot accounts. They look to be making edits with others' accounts too. See [[Special:Contributions/Faust38]] and his/her user log [http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:Log&amp;user=Faust38], who has a good, normal edit, plus a spam edit for insurance accompanied by a user creation for a spam insurance account.<br />
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:This is so awful, and isn't getting fixed. I'm starting to feel like it's time to make a final back up of data (or use the last one and manually integrate the good changes since) and to pack our bags. --[[User:Peterfitzgerald|Peter]] &lt;small&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[[User_talk:Peterfitzgerald|Talk]]&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/small&gt; 11:05, 9 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
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== Editting on iOS? ==<br />
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I can't seem to edit pages when using my iOS device. Am I missing something? It seems to work fine when using Android... -- [[User:Tsandell|Tim]] 08:25, 17 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
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:What issues are you having specifically? Have you been able to edit on iOS in the past, and only having the problem recently? It could be related to the recent MediaWiki upgrade. Personally, I can edit using my phone (HTC Windows Phone) &lt;big&gt;[[User:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#4682b4&quot;&gt;&lt;big&gt;J&lt;/big&gt;ames'''&lt;small&gt;A&lt;/small&gt;'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/big&gt; &lt;sup&gt;[[User talk:JamesA|&lt;font face=&quot;Segoe UI&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#191970&quot;&gt;'''&gt;talk'''&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;]]&lt;/sup&gt; 08:30, 17 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
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::I've not tried editing on iOS before so I'm not sure if it's a new thing or not. When viewing any page on either Safari or Chrome, after clicking to see normal versions of the pages (as opposed to mobile versions) it will show up the &quot;edit&quot; links - but then if I click on it, I get the edit page but back in the mobile version, but the wiki code isn't in a text box which you can edit. Hope that makes sense... -- [[User:Tsandell|Tim]] 09:01, 17 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
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::: Okay, so now it's kinda working now. I'm using Chrome on iOS and when trying to edit it still takes me back to the mobile version which is formatted differently and can't be edited. But with Chrome there's a &quot;request desktop version&quot; option which shows the normal desktop version of the page and allows you to edit as normal. It's still a bit of a hassle though. -- [[User:Tsandell|Tim]] 15:38, 17 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
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:::: I have the same problem on Android as well. If you want to edit, you can't let the site know you are on a mobile device, otherwise it keeps flicking back to it. --[[User:Inas|Inas]] 21:47, 17 July 2012 (EDT)<br />
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